Not sure what to do about the Central Arizona Water Conservation District candidates on your ballot?
Here’s a quick rundown:
There are two newcomers:
And four incumbents:
What happens to the Central Arizona Project’s share of Colorado River water after 2026.
That’s when the current rules expire that govern operations at Lake Mead, where we get our water, and the upstream Lake Powell that feeds it.
Negotiations on the next set of rules remain at an impasse. But there is wide agreement that users who rely on Lake Mead will need to pare back annual water use even deeper than they are now, and probably permanently.
It’s unclear how deep those cuts might go and who would have to shoulder them past 2026, but one scenario involves the Central Arizona Project absorbing an outsized share, given its junior rights to the water.
That could vastly reduce what flows through the canal, which in addition to providing less water for the cities and tribes that rely on it, also could raise costs to deliver that water and throw a monkey wrench into the district’s........