Summary

 

For over 70 years, Arizona leaders have worked to ensure that Arizona's communities have dependable long-term water supplies. From securing the state's fair share of Colorado River water and gaining Congressional authorization of the Central Arizona Project (CAP) to crafting the 1980 Groundwater Management Code, their foresight and planning has provided the water supply that serves our growing communities and maintains our quality of life. During the 1996 legislative session, Governor Symington and the State Legislature continued the tradition by creating the Arizona Water Banking Authority (Authority).

Until the AWBA was created, Arizona did not use its full 2.8 million acre feet (maf) share of Colorado River water. Without the AWBA, Arizona would not have used its full allocation until the year 2030. During that interim period, the accumulated amount of water left in the Colorado River would have amounted to approximately 14 million acre feet. Most of that water would have gone to southern California.

Leaving a portion of Arizona’s water in the Colorado River was a lost opportunity. The AWBA seizes this opportunity and gives Arizona the capability to further secure the dependable water supplies necessary to ensure the state’s long-term prosperity.

The AWBA was created to store unused Arizona Colorado River water to meet future needs for:

1. Assuring adequate supply to municipal and industrial users in times of shortages or disruptions of the CAP system;
2. Meeting the management plan objectives of the Arizona Groundwater Code;
3. Assisting in the settlement of Indian water rights claims; and
4. Exchanging water to assist Colorado River communities.

In addition to these functions, the AWBA can also undertake additional water banking activities. The Arizona Water Banking Authority Study Commission, created in 1996 to consider and recommend possible additional roles for the AWBA in carrying out Arizona's water policy, proposed a series of water banking amendments during the 1999 legislative session, all of which were approved by the Legislature and signed into law in April by Governor Hull. These statutory amendments include provisions to allow the AWBA to perform banking services for specific entities in Arizona and create a mechanism for distribution of long-term storage credits earned on behalf of specific Arizona entities; to permit the AWBA to store effluent for the same purposes allowed for Central Arizona Project water but only when all available excess CAP water has been stored or when excess CAP water is not available to the AWBA; to protect non-CAP surface water supplies; to create a mechanism for long-term storage credit lending; and to require the AWBA to include in each annual report a section that discusses how the previous year's activity fits in with the Authority's long-term goals.

In 2005, the Arizona Legislature created the Indian Firming Study Commission to develop recommendations for meeting the State’s obligation under the Arizona Water Settlements Act. The Study Commission concluded that the AWBA is the most appropriate entity to fulfill the State’s role in the Indian firming program and recommended the AWBA be provided with sufficient funding to implement the program on behalf of the State of Arizona. In 2006, the AWBA was given the authority to fulfill the State’s firming obligation. The AWBA subsequently entered into an agreement with the Secretary of the Interior that defines that obligation and also allows the AWBA to enter into separate agreements with Indian communities to develop firming plans.

The AWBA is also authorized to act on Arizona’s behalf to enter into interstate banking agreements. In 2005, the AWBA began storing water for Nevada pursuant to the Amended Agreement for Interstate Water Banking.

The AWBA is an institution that will guide Arizona water planning into the next century. By storing substantial amounts of water in central Arizona, the AWBA safeguards against future shortages on the CAP system, assists in meeting the goals of the Groundwater Code, and aids neighboring states without harming Arizona. The AWBA is Arizona's "water savings account" that ensures that the water supplies future generations inherit from us are just as secure as those we inherited.