Phoenix is almost synonymous with the word “hot” in the summer. Being Arizona’s biggest city, and living in the driest desert of the west, and yet people aren’t worried, and it’s becoming obvious. In an article published October 2003 and entitled “Drought? What Drought?” the website US Water News (http://www.uswaternews.com/archives/arcconserv/3drowha10.html) chronicles the lax attitude the city about water conservation. One business owner is quoted as saying “In 100 years, we might have a problem… is it going to affect my generation? I don't think so.'' The article also goes on to articulate the use of water in the city, including the world’s largest fountain, a 500-foot jet of water, numerous golf courses, some of which refuse to use reclaim water, as some patrons find this practice to be unsanitary. 28 public pools, and countless artificial lakes, some neighborhoods are even “floating” neighborhoods reminiscent of Venice or Seattle.

In the same article quoted above, there are some pretty frightening findings to refute the attitudes of “Phoenicians.” “Even with the summer heat fading, much of the West -- southwestern Colorado, most of Utah, western Montana, western Wyoming and parts of New Mexico -- is still stuck in an extreme drought, according to the National Drought Mitigation Center in Lincoln, Neb.”
Where does Phoenix get its water? There are two main sources for water in Phoenix: The Salt River Project and the Central Arizona Project. The Salt River Project has effectively turned the Salt River into nothing but a dry riverbed even before it hits city limits. The Central Arizona project takes water from Lake Powell and smaller lakes bordering the Phoenix city limits, and canals it into Phoenix. Most of these lakes in Southern Arizona are dry, or close to. According to the Desert Morning News Lake Powell is at capacity; but, wait it gets better. "Our preliminary calculations show that we can handle upwards of three more years of drought beyond 2004 before the situation becomes critical." According to the same newspaper, we have only three years before the situation becomes “critical.”

One might argue on the basis that the Salt River Project (SRP) has 750,000 acre-feet in storage at a storage facility. (An acre-foot is about 325,000 gallons, or enough to supply water to ONE family for a year.) These estimates are found on SRP’s website: http://www.srpnet.com/water/grusp.asp. Think about it though, 750,000 acre-feet is roughly enough to provide 750,000 families with water when water runs out. The scary thing here is that there are 3-4 million people in Southern Arizona. Water supply wouldn’t last the year.
So the drought in Phoenix is something that we “shouldn’t worry about”? I think not. SRP is worried; they are worried to the point that in an article from the Arizona Republic, they noted that between 2002 and 2003 SRP cut water production by 33%. Apparently, the only people that aren’t worried about the water crisis are the people who profit the most off of extravagant water consumption.

For most of this paper, I have been talking about general issues and history of water management in the Southwest, focusing on Lakes and cities. The rural community is the one that is hurting, however. The Arizona Republic reports that two schools were forced to close in rural Arizona due to depleted wells, yet “plentiful” water supplies of Phoenix allowed a major resort company to construct and open a new resort, complete with four acres of ponds, fountains, pools and a fake river, all of which will use up to 3 million gallons of water day. How can water supplies be “plentiful” while schools close? Again, I bring us back to an Arizonan engineering feat: The Central Arizona Project; that canal system is described earlier that brings water from Lakes Powell, Mead, Mohave, Havasu, and other non-dammed areas along the length of the Colorado River. Instead of flowing past and irrigating farms in Utah, instead of providing clean drinking water to dozens of small and large desert communities like Kingman, Peach Springs, and Flagstaff, water is piped from Northern and Western Arizona and Utah to build a three million gallon FAKE river in a place where rivers rarely flow naturally.

So my final question for the masses: what kind of world do we live in when a fake river can flow, but kids cannot go to school? When extravagant swimming pools can be constructed, but towns nearby go dry, and are forced to pay excessive amounts for that blue gold, water. What kind of world to we live in when water rights can mean life or death of a long-standing ranch. Corporate America is once again being greedy for their own capitalization, and the people are paying the price.