14-05-2025
Governor Hobbs takes Colorado River helicopter tour, urging upper basin states to take water cuts
The Brief
Western states are ramping up negotiations on the allocation of Colorado River water.
During a helicopter tour with officials from the Central Arizona Project, Governor Katie Hobbs emphasized the importance of securing a fair share for Arizona.
Hobbs says the state is working on solving an ongoing water crisis and would be much worse off without conservation efforts and previous cuts.
PHOENIX - In the next few months, western states will have to get on board and agree on how much water each state will get from the Colorado River.
It has been a decades-long battle and tense negotiations with other states are ramping up again.
We are getting closer and closer to a critical moment in our state's water security.
Governor Katie Hobbs helped explain what is being done to ensure we get a fair slice during a helicopter tour of the Colorado.
The backstory
The tour took off from the Central Arizona Project's (CAP) campus in North Phoenix.
Inside, Governor Katie Hobbs listens as CAP General Manager Brenda Burman describes how the canal from the Colorado River is pumped uphill to bring water through the Valley and onward to Tucson.
"Before cap growth was very much constrained in the Valley," said Burman.
What we know
Colorado River water was a large piece of the Arizona water puzzle and we have something called "junior rights" to it, meaning other states have bigger claims to the water before it ever even gets here.
"We have already taken real cuts and done a lot to do our part in conservation, and we need the upper basin states to do the same thing," said Hobbs.
The canal leads to Lake Pleasant, known for its boating and sunshine, but CAP thinks of it as a water storage facility.
"This is where the water both comes in and is taken out so it's our intake towers," said Burman.
What's next
Soon, the states along the Colorado River will need to come to an agreement on how much each state gets.
Arizona received water cuts in 2022 and our negotiator is fighting for upper basin states like Utah and Colorado to make cuts as well.
It hasn't gone over well.
Why you should care
Flyovers help Hobbs and her negotiating team to gain more perspective during the negotiations.
"We're in a position where the lower basin states have taken the brunt of the cuts until now and if we don't reach agreement with the upper basin we're going to be in a far worse position," she said.
At a water roundtable, state, city, and tribal leaders stressed why CAP water is so valuable.
"It doesn't seem like the upper basin is willing to do anything," said Terry Goddard, CAWCD Board President.
"It's really critical at this point of time. Time is short," said Tom Buschatzke of the Arizona Department of Water Resources.
What they're saying
Katie Hobbs believes the state is in a water crisis.
"Oh, absolutely, but we're solving it," she said.
Moments later she clarified that answer.
"I think if we weren't taking the action that we are now that we would get there, but we're taking action. We're avoiding that," said Hobbs.
