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PHOENIX — Phoenix city leaders unanimously approved joining a first-of-its-kind water partnership aimed at protecting communities from running dry as Colorado River supplies continue to decline.
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The program, called the Secure Water Arizona Program, or SWAP, is a voluntary initiative with a dual purpose: serving as an emergency water-sharing agreement and as a platform for testing new water conservation projects alongside other cities and companies.
“What are the next generation of water saving and water sharing programs to ensure that as we live with the future with less Colorado River water available, every Valley community and communities all across Arizona knows that we have the water we need to do the things that we all want to do,” Phoenix Water Resources Management Advisor Max Wilson said.
The program comes at a critical time as reservoirs fed by the Colorado River face serious lows, creating uncertainty for communities that rely solely on this water source.
“We don’t want to have water emergencies when we have a good ability to avoid them by working together,” ASU Kyl Center for Water Policy Director Sarah Porter said. “We don’t want a world where people in a suburb of Phoenix are in very deep curtailment, and other people in other parts of Phoenix are not even feeling a difference.”
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Wilson said the program is intended to be open to new partnerships for any companies or municipalities that want to join.
“We want this to be a big tent, everybody’s invited, and we want to make sure that we have every community participating if they’re willing,” Wilson said.
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