Arizona mayors unite to fight in Colorado River negotiations

Arizona cities are joining together under one banner to advocate for Arizona in ongoing Colorado River talks.

Existing agreements determining Arizona’s allotted share of Colorado River water are set to expire next year.

Because demand on water has grown and the supply has diminished over time, water cuts are inevitable. The seven basin states are in negotiations to decide which states will bear the brunt of those cuts.

At a discussion on Wednesday, Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego emphasized the need to get these negotiations right for the sake of Arizona’s future.

“For political reasons as well as drought, it [the river] is under threat, and we have to come together and tell the story of the really important work that we as the cities in the Central Arizona Project service territory are doing to protect our water,” Gallego said.

She is one of 23 Arizona mayors in the bipartisan coalition so far.

CAP is the system that delivers Colorado River water throughout the state and is in partnership with the municipalities under the new coalition, branded Coalition for Protecting Arizona’s Lifeline.

The goal of the new Arizona coalition is to unite Colorado River water users and showcase the state’s ongoing water conservation efforts.

Brenda Burman is the executive director of the CAP.

“I think when people have looked into our state from the outside, they haven’t seen us standing together. They’ve seen us making our own announcements, and that’s not how we feel, so we wanted to have a chance to be able to show it,” Burman said.

Burman said the coalition is only in its first phase and will expand to include other Arizona water users, like farms.

Camryn Sanchez/KJZZ

Arizona is also allied with the other Lower Basin states: California and Nevada.

The Upper Basin states have also coalesced into a united group, which is opposed to having to make any cuts at all. The Upper Basin argues that because most of the Colorado River water use comes from the Lower Basin and the Upper Basin has never overused the water, the Lower Basin states are the only ones that should have to make cuts.

Gallego emphasized the necessity of Arizona having enough river water not just for its own internal users, but for the country.

“Not only is this water essential to the lives of families across our state, but it's also producing incredible value with this limited resource, delivering critical industries such as advanced manufacturing, biomedicine, aerospace, much of the nation's fresh produce — industries that are critical to our economy, to our national security and future. The entire country benefits from the investments being made in all of these cities,” Gallego said.

She added that climate change is a global problem, not the Lower Basin’s fault.

“I don't like to play politics. We need to resolve this water problem for Arizona and for the municipalities here that's affected,” Mesa Mayor Mark Freeman said. “It doesn't matter to me what California does, what Nevada does, but it does matter to us what the Upper Basin does, because we all have to play in a partnership with this,” he said.