Appraisal Report Central Arizona Project

Document: "Appraisal Report Central Arizona Project- Synopsis", January 1962, page 12economically justified and financially feasible, with an assumed annual diversion of 1,200,000 acre-feet of water from the Colorado River. Concepts for Future Water Supply This appraisal has clearly brought into focus the fact that the present economy of the Central Arizona Project area is being supported by an overdraft of the ground-water basin and that, without additional water, a substantial part of the presently developed lands will ultimately be forced out of production and the growth and development of the area retarded. The plan of development outlined in this report will provide but partial relief; therefore, it is essential that steps be taken to chart a long-range course of conservation and development that will allow the area to enjoy continued growth. In considering long-range plans, it must be recognized that water shortages exist throughout Arizona and that many nonproject areas in the State hope to benefit through exchange agreements from the importation of water to central Arizona. It is further evident that water demands in all states of the Lower Colorado River Basin exceed the supply which can be made available from the Colorado River. The Lower Basin includes most of Arizona; the southern parts of California, Nevada, and Utah; and western New Mexico--the most dynamic growth areas in the Nation. The Central Arizona Project must be considered as a part of a basin-wide program to provide for the expanding water needs of this rapidly developing region. The most urgent requirement leading toward conservation of the available water resources of the Lower Basin appears to be the provision of impervious linings or closed conduit systems for all irrigation canals and distribution 12Epson Perfection 4870 Photo, 400 dpi, 8 bit, 1,018,347 byte