Arizona’s plan has broad support but it hasn’t been approved by the Legislature, a factor that has made the negotiations on the drought contingency plan more complex.
No other state required lawmakers to sign off.
“The delay increases the risk for us all.” The deadline requires only that the states sign off on the drought plan.
Arizona lawmakers want to see exactly how the plan will affect their constituents before they cast a vote, and tweaks to a handful of bills expected to be introduced will create more uncertainty.
His budget includes $30 million to protect the levels in Lake Mead and $5 million for groundwater infrastructure.
If Arizona’s plan collapses and the federal government steps in, those states could put in motion at least some of their own plan to meet their obligation to the lower basin states, water managers there said.
The Interior Department, the parent agency of the Bureau of Reclamation, is the water master of the river that serves 40 million people.
“The less time you give us, the more complicated this is going to get.” Arizona must find a way to reduce its use of Colorado River water by up to 700,000 acre-feet — more than twice Nevada’s yearly allocation under the drought plan.
The Metropolitan Water District, another major water user of Colorado River water in California, is pumping more water through its aqueducts to ensure the 500,000 acre-feet of water it has stored behind Lake Mead won’t be stranded if the reservoir levels fall drastically and Arizona isn’t on board with the drought plan, said the district’s general manager, Jeff Kightlinger.
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