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BACKGROUND
Funding
The majority of the money utilized by the AWBA comes from existing revenue sources and from fees paid by those that benefit directly from the stored water. There are restrictions on the manner in which funds must be expended based on their source of generation. The AWBA obtains its funding from three sources:
- Fees for groundwater pumping collected within the Phoenix, Pinal and Tucson Active Management Areas (AMA). In the Phoenix AMA, Tucson AMA and most areas of the Pinal AMA, fees are charged at $2.50 per acre foot. Fees for entities in Pinal County not associated with an irrigation district phase in over seven years, beginning at $0.75 per acre foot in 1997 and increasing $0.25 per acre foot annually until the $2.50 per acre foot amount is reached. Credits accrued with these monies must be used to benefit the AMA in which they were collected.
- A four cent ad valorem property tax in the three county CAP service area. The CAWCD is statutorily authorized to levy this tax through 2016. If the money is not needed for certain CAP costs, the funds are deposited into a District fund and are used to defray. It has done so every year since the AWBA’s inception. Money from this source must be used to benefit the county in which it was collected.
- A general fund appropriation in an annual amount determined to be appropriate by the Arizona Legislature and the Governor. In years provided, annual appropriation has been $2 million. Water stored with these funds may be used to assist communities along the Colorado River, to assist in meeting state water management objectives or as a component of Indian water rights settlements.
In 2005, the AWBA received funding to meet the terms of the Amended Agreement for Interstate Water Banking. The initial $100 million received in 2005 is intended to be an “insurance” payment to develop alternative water resources for Nevada if needed. Ten payments of $23 million beginning in 2009 through 2018 will be used to pay for the cost of water delivery and storage.
In the future, additional sources will likely include fees collected from the sale of stored water credits used for drought protection (if the credits used were developed using general fund money) and fees associated with water banking services agreements.
Through December 2005, the AWBA has collected more than $240 million and expended more than $128 million in the process of developing 2.3 million acre-feet of long-term storage credits. The 2006 Annual Plan of Operation will cost about $44 million and develop about 324,000 acre-feet of long-term storage credits. Annual accounting is detailed in the AWBA’s annual report.
