Lake Havasu City Council opposes permanent transfer of Colorado River "fourth priority" water; approves code updates and infrastructure contracts

Lake Havasu City Council on Tuesday voted unanimously to adopt a resolution opposing the permanent transfer of so-called "fourth priority" Colorado River water from GSC Farm LLC (Greenstone) to the Town of Queen Creek and approved a slate of city contracts and ordinance introductions including updates to local building and fire codes.

The council adopted resolution No. 25-3875 after a presentation from city staff and a short public comment period. Miss Gary, presenting the item, told the council that transfers of water entitlements from small on-river communities to benefit metropolitan areas with alternate water supplies "establishes a bad precedent, and places the local water supplies and economic future of rural jurisdictions at risk." A member of the public, Robert Fisher, urged the council to "keep objecting to these water transfers," citing poor reservoir forecasts for Lake Powell and Lake Mead.

Why it matters: the Bureau of Reclamation has issued a notice of intent to prepare an environmental impact statement (EIS) and set a target completion/record-of-decision date in April 2027. The city’s resolution communicates Lake Havasu City’s continued opposition and will be included with other local comments submitted during Reclamation’s EIS process.

Votes at a glance - Consent agenda: Motion to accept the consent agenda as presented (mover: Council member Jenny Coke; second: Council member Cameron Moses).…