There has been a significant amount of media attention regarding the challenges facing the Colorado River. Rightfully so, given the importance of this water supply to Arizona’s cities and Tribal Nations. 

But while the state’s water leaders have tried earnestly to reach an agreement with the Upper Basin states on allocating the limited supply, solutions remain elusive. Hydrology is challenging, and so it appears we are headed to litigation. That is unfortunate, because through litigation there are typically just winners and losers. I know too well from my 35-plus years of working to resolve water conflicts for the Salt River Project that when it comes to allocating water, winners and losers is not the pathway to follow. Resolving such conflicts through agreement provides a win-win opportunity and creates the pathway for long-term investment and growth of the economy in the region. 

While the Colorado River issues are playing out, there is another similar water issue surfacing in the Phoenix area. This one involves the Buckeye Water Conservation and Drainage District (BWCDD) that I consult with as well as many of the Phoenix area cities and the federal government. This conflict revolves around plans to expand the storage of water on the Verde River and plans by Phoenix to treat the wastewater produced at the 91st Avenue treatment plant as a drinking water supply. 

Unfortunately, both projects, if completed, would take away the water supply currently used by BWCDD customers. Those customers are mostly farmers today, but in the future will be homeowners and residents of the city of Buckeye. For the past several years, BWCDD has reached out to the Phoenix area cities and offered solutions on how these supplies could be allocated between BWCDD and the Phoenix area cities. But, just like Arizona and the Lower Basin States have found with the Upper Basin states on the Colorado River, BWCDD has found reaching an agreement with the Phoenix area cities difficult. Not so much because of what BWCDD is asking for in an agreement — far less than what their landowners’ decreed rights allow — but because the Phoenix area cities, except the city of Phoenix, don’t aren’t interested in coming to the table. Like with the Colorado River, that is unfortunate because the pathway we are headed for is litigation. And, as I stated before, the outcome of litigation is a win-lose situation. BWCDD’s water rights are far senior to the supplies contemplated in these projects. 

This issue deserves the attention from the Phoenix area cities to reach a fair agreement, just as these same cities want from the upper Colorado River Basin states. 

Dave Roberts is a former water resource executive for the Salt River Project, and now a water strategy consultant.