Sharing Is Arizona's Answer To Water Shortages

A new agreement between Phoenix and Tucson may help the cities stay afloat should water shortages hit.

Each city has something the other one needs.

"Phoenix lacks the storage capacity for a portion of the city’s unused Colorado River water, so the arrangement calls for Phoenix to send the excess water to Tucson via the Central Arizona Project canal system," the Associated Press reported.

What does Phoenix get out of the deal? If or when shortages hit, "Phoenix would take a share of Tucson’s Colorado River water while Tucson pumps the Phoenix water it put into storage years earlier," the Arizona Daily Star reported.

Tucson Mayor Jonathan Rothschild explained the thinking behind the plan.

“It allows Phoenix to send us their water and we’ll give them our water credits,” he said to the Daily Star.

Officials hope that executing the plan will not be necessary.

“But if it does [become necessary],” Rothschild said, per the report, “we’ll have the benefit of their water and they’ll have our credits.”

The project is still in its introductory phase.

"The Phoenix-Tucson arrangement begins in 2015 with a small pilot project that will run two or three years. If successful, it could lead to a larger-scale, long-term program," the AP reported, citing officials.

Officials say the plan could inspire other areas.

"The arrangement between Phoenix and Tucson could be a model for other Arizona cities, said Tom Buschatzke, assistant director for water planning with the Arizona Department of Water Resources," according to the AP.

Water is a pressing problem in arid Arizona. The West is experiencing a prolonged drought.

"Water scarcity is one of Arizona's most serious, ever-present problems," Arizona Central reported. "If Arizonans don't change how they consume water and start brainstorming new solutions for dwindling supplies, shortages won't be a choice, they will be an unavoidable reality."

James Ogsbury, executive director of the Western Governor's Association, recently called the drought in the West a "slow-motion disaster," according to Arizona Central.

Check out Water Online's Water Scarcity Solution Center.