For Star subscribers: Tucson might leave more than 20% of its CAP supply in Lake Mead next year — and may even decide to take less than its full allocation for 2022 — to prevent deeper shortages. But the city…
Tony Davis In a quick change of position, Tucson might leave more than 20% of its Central Arizona Project water supply in Lake Mead next year, with some reductions in deliveries possible this year, in an effort to prevent the lake from continuing its precipitous decline.
In an interview before Thursday's council meeting, Romero said,"I believe to have meaningful impact, the city should consider 30,000 to 35,000 acre feet" in the lake. The city may even decide to take less than its full allocation for 2022, Romero and other city officials said. Now, conditions on the river have taken yet another turn for the worse due to continued warm and dry weather. Federal officials recently acted to keep Lake Powell from tumbling below 3,490 feet, at which Glen Canyon Dam's turbines could no longer generate power. The Interior Department announced in April it will hold back nearly 500,000 acre feet in Powell, cutting the annual delivery from Powell to Mead by about 6.4%.
"Of course we would have to be at one with other cities and native nations. In order for it to work it has to be a collective effort; and we have to have federal support and federal dollars, and we need to be assured participation from our neighbors in California," Romero said. Councilman Steve Kozachik, who seconded Cunningham's motion, noted,"If all our users took all their allocations, they would suck it dry. We do a great job banking our water. We're good for six or seven years, but we've gotta look beyond that. Even if we had a decade straight of significant snowpack in the Rockies, that's not going to solve it for us. It’s great to take an interim step to deliver the message that we are all on the table. But this is just anteing up.
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