Senator reemphasized her commitment to ensuring a secure water future for Arizona
WASHINGTON – Arizona senior Senator Kyrsten Sinema met with the Central Arizona Water Conservation District to build on their solutions-focused partnership shaping Arizona’s long-term water future.
As Colorado River Basin negotiations continue between all Basin states, Sinema is working with stakeholders like the Central Arizona Water Conservation District to ensure Arizona’s conservation operations serve as a model for other states – encouraging Basin-wide collaboration and preventing Arizona from bearing the brunt of future cuts.
“Arizona’s ability to grow and thrive depends on a secure and strong water future. We’ll keep working with partners like the Central Arizona Water Conservation District to implement real solutions, strengthen our water security, and ensure Arizona continues to lead the way in our response to Western drought,” said Sinema.
The 2007 Colorado River Interim Guidelines for Lower Basin Shortages and the Coordinated Operations for Lake Powell and Lake Mead are set to expire at the end of 2026. The focus of Basin-wide conversations has turned from immediate conservation needs to formulating the post-2026 operating guidelines.
The Central Arizona Water Conservation District oversees the Central Arizona Project, which delivers water to residents of Maricopa, Pima, and Pinal Counties – representing 6 million, or over 80%, of the state’s population.
Sinema has long acknowledged that there isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution to a challenge as severe as the West’s historic drought conditions, which is why she has made a point to consistently meet with Arizona water experts from all backgrounds. Since negotiating her bipartisan infrastructure law and delivering historic investments to the state, Sinema has been actively working with partners in Arizona and across the West to identify solutions helping mitigate the impact of Western drought.
Last year, Sinema launched a Water Advisory Council of Arizona water experts from agriculture, tribal, conservation, academic, and business communities across Arizona – including CAP General Manager Brenda Burman – to help advise the Senator on water issues and form a lasting regional plan that relieves the historic drought conditions in the American West.
Between Sinema’s bipartisan infrastructure law and the Inflation Reduction law she shaped, the Senator has secured more than $12 billion in drought relief and Western water funding.