Arizona governor going to D.C. to negotiate state’s Colorado River water supply

PHOENIX (AZFamily) — Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs is heading to the nation’s capitol to meet with neighboring governors to talk about the dwindling supply of Colorado River water we rely on.

The meeting on Friday in Washington, D.C., comes as negotiations drag on about how to divide up the water among seven states, including Arizona. The current agreement expires this year.

Feb. 14 is the deadline to come to an agreement. If there isn’t a deal, water policy experts say the federal government could step in, and it’s unclear what kind of cuts it would make. Either way, a plan does need to be in place by October.

About 36% of the water we use here in Arizona comes from the Colorado River. So why are negotiations taking so long? Sarah Porter, the director of the Kyl Center for Water Policy at ASU, told Arizona’s Family the upper basin and lower basin states disagree about how to share the cuts, and Arizona has already taken steep ones.

Porter predicted even deeper cuts are likely, and in the future you could get stronger messaging from your water provider about conserving water, and your water bill could go up.

“To make things even harder, so far this year the snowpack in the upper Rockies, where about 85% of the Colorado River system water originates, is terrible,” she said. “So we are looking at a very dire situation within a year.”

Still though, Porters said don’t panic. She described the water supply issue as a “slow-moving” train crash that cities and water providers have been preparing for for years.

“The vast majority of water providers in the Phoenix area have been storing water in the aquifers when they have extra water and making plans to be prepared to withdraw that water,” she said. “If there’s a disruption in Colorado River supplies, there are water supplies for the near-term. Those are not water supplies for forever or the very long-term.”

In terms of the future, Porter said there are some promising plans in the works. The cities of Phoenix, Peoria and Scottsdale are ramping up work on an advanced water purification center where reclaimed water could be treated and used for drinking water.

It’s unclear if governors from California, Washington, Utah, Colorado, Nevada and Wyoming will all be in attendance, but they were invited to the summit by Interior Secretary Doug Burgum.

Below is the full statement from Gov. Hobbs ahead of Friday’s meeting:

“The Colorado River is at a pivotal moment, and the status quo is not sustainable; the stakes couldn’t be higher. I am going to Washington because I believe a path forward is still possible. I appreciate Secretary Burgum convening Basin state governors for this conversation after my calls for stronger federal engagement. That level of leadership is necessary, overdue, and essential if we are going to break the logjam and reach a durable agreement.

“The Colorado River water sustains millions of families, supports Tribal nations, and generates critical hydropower at Glen Canyon and Hoover Dams that keeps lights on and economies running across the West. Arizona is a leader in common sense water conservation policies and we are at the table and ready to compromise, but every state that relies on the Colorado River must share in its protection, not the Lower Basin alone. I will not accept a deal that endangers the advanced manufacturing and agricultural economy that is vital to our country’s national security or shortchanges Arizona farmers, businesses, and families.

“Arizona is the beating heart of America’s reshoring, reindustrialization, and pursuit of AI dominance. Arizona manufactures the most advanced semiconductor chips in the western hemisphere. Arizona produces 90% of America’s winter leafy greens. Phoenix is one of the top markets in the world for data centers. We are a leader in advanced manufacturing, including the aerospace and defense industries. This deal should reflect, not undermine, this reality and shared priorities between myself and the Trump Administration. By striking a deal that protects Arizona’s fair share of Colorado River water, we can continue to onshore critical supply chains and ensure our country’s strength for the next 100 years. I look forward to making these points to Secretary Burgum and my fellow governors, and highlighting what is at stake in Colorado River negotiations for the people of Arizona and our country.”

See a spelling or grammatical error in our story? Please click here to report it.

Do you have a photo or video of a breaking news story? Send it to us here with a brief description.