Dear Cave Creek Residents and Merchants,
Colorado River water and Central Arizona Project, CAP, canals will be in the news for years to come. That is where most of Cave Creek’s water is sourced. The Town government will be taking additional steps to ensure adequate water in the future. The most important need is to conserve water.
The Colorado river was allocated at about 17-million-acre feet per year decades ago, but is only producing 11-12. The allocation was done at a time of low population in Arizona. The political realities at the time forced Arizona to subordinate rights to California.
A high stakes negotiation is now going on between river basin states, including California, and the federal government. That negotiation will determine how much Arizona’s water and those of the other states is cut to balance the Colorado River consumption with long term production. That will likely reduce water to all the states and perhaps disproportionately to Arizona and Cave Creek.
I’m proud to say the Arizona negotiators are steadfastly protecting our water, but everyone must cut back. The question is: how much will each state be cut? Will it be massive cuts in Arizona? Or will the cuts be shared more fairly? Old, existing, and out of date agreements put Arizona in a precarious position.
While the final Big Picture solution is uncertain, there are clear policies and structural steps the Town is taking and more are likely. You probably do not notice, but high monthly water use is billed at far higher rates than the average consumer. The typical customer consumes 10,000 gallons per month. The highest water cost for massive consumers (50,000 gallons per month) is 6 times the lowest on water bills. It pays to use water wisely.
The Town currently has enough water for some modest growth at current consumption levels. But we must plan and get started on changes to protect our desert life. That means every consumer in Cave Creek will need to reduce wasted water and configure homes and landscaping to use less.
Even though Arizona uses far less water per person than historically, with massive growth, conservation is clearly in our future on a greater scale than today.
Did you know the water use in summer is 75% higher in July than it is in January, even though many people are out of town and businesses are less busy! That’s a clue to an opportunity to save water without dramatic changes to our lifestyle.
Next month, I will use my personal water adventures to illustrate where conservation can help ensure reliable supplies for decades to come.
Mayor Robert Morris
Town of Cave Creek
(Source: Cave Creek Corner)
