Aerial of Central Arizona Project (CAP) canal
The Central Arizona Project is a 336-mile canal in Arizona that supplies Colorado River water for the Phoenix and Tucson area, agriculture and several Native-American tribes. Construction began in 1973 and was substantially complete by 1994. This portion is located near Sandario Road and Mile Wide Road west of Tucson on March 17, 2021. Video by: Mamta Popat / Arizona Daily Star
Mamta Popat
Photojournalist
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Even if 50 to 75 percent of our CAP supply is cut, Tucson Water can supply its customers without over-pumping the aquifer, officials say. But there's a red flag — climate change.
Tucson could take severe cuts in CAP water deliveries next yearFor Star subscribers: "Because of the dire conditions in Lake Mead and Lake Powell, any degree of reductions may be possible" in CAP deliveries, Tucson Water Director John Kmiec says. At some point, the cuts could be large enough that the city will have to pump more native groundwater than it has in years.
For Star subscribers: City to leave "significant volumes" of its Central Arizona Project water supply in the river in return for U.S. financial compensation.
