Interior Warns Arizona Of Potential CAP Water Cuts

[hatrack]

GRAND CANYON - "The federal government's top water official urged Arizona leaders Sunday to work with other states to develop a drought plan for the Colorado River because not even the best scientists can say when this dry spell will end. Speaking to the opening session of Arizona Town Hall, Assistant Interior Secretary Bennett Raley said the states that use the Colorado must be prepared for a range of scenarios in the coming years and can't rely on any set of computer predictions.

"Our best modelers didn't predict the last five years of drought," Raley said. "Do not be deluded into thinking that models will tell you what will happen next year. Their crystal ball doesn't work."

More than 170 leaders from around the state are gathered here until Wednesday to discuss water issues and produce a set of recommendations that could help guide water policy in coming years. Drought and the Colorado River are among the key topics. Gov. Janet Napolitano is scheduled to address Town Hall delegates today.

Arizona and the other Colorado River states are trying to negotiate a set of rules that would spell out when a shortage would be declared on the river and how the shortfalls would be spread among the states.

Under existing law, if there is no other agreement in place and the Interior secretary were forced to declare a shortage on the river because of drought, the first taps to run dry would be those that feed the Central Arizona Project. That means billions of gallons of water that now flow to Phoenix and Tucson would instead remain in the river for Nevada and California."

EDIT

http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/1101water01.html

[Southpaw Bookworm]

1. A good thing?

I have to admit that I have little sympathy for those who think it's perfectly acceptable to expect a green oasis in the middle of the desert.

[phantom power]

2. Definitely good. The southwest states need to face up to

the inevitability of a prolonged drought. Even if this drought ends next year (unlikely), we will eventually endure a 20-year drought.

It also makes me very happy to hear somebody say "scientists don't know with certainty, so we had better act on the conservative side". The last twenty years or so it's been popular to say things more like "scientists don't know, so let's just assume everything is really just fine."

[Southpaw Bookworm]

4. OK.

I'm in the East, so I'm rather unschooled in the water rights issues of the Western U.S.

[ramapo]

3. Yep...

The rise of Las Vegas has to be one of the stupidest developments in history...