Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Water Acquisition topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Director says Verde allocation reduced; interconnect project proceeding through NEPA with multimillion-dollar costs
Summary
Director Mike Loggins told the board previously requested Verde allocations were reduced from ~50,000 to ~9,000 acre-feet and have been further cut to roughly 4,500 acre-feet on a three-year average. He said moving that supply via an interconnect to CAP is the project's purpose and estimated district costs at about $20,000–$30,000 per acre-foot; the district has set aside roughly $20 million.
Director Mike Loggins updated the board on the Salt River Project/Central Arizona Project interconnect facility and recent changes to the Verde-system allocation the district has pursued.
Loggins said the district’s initial Verde allocation request was large — he used the phrase "we roughly asked for about 50,000 acre feet" — which later dropped to about 9,000 acre-feet in a subsequent assessment. He said federal adjustments have further reduced the district’s expected share to roughly 4,500 acre-feet as a three-year average. "We went through a whole process... and then that cut it in half again. So, we're roughly at about 4,500 acre feet," he told the board.
On project timing and approvals, Loggins said the interconnect has completed a 30% design phase and the next cost-sharing agreement moves the work to 60% design and explicitly includes the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) review; he said the NEPA process is expected to continue through the end of 2027. He added the district is identifying long-lead procurement items for construction.
Loggins provided a rough cost estimate for moving that supply, saying the district's current estimate is on the order of $20,000 to $30,000 per acre-foot and that the district has collected about $20 million in a water resource acquisition fund to contribute to the project. The estimates were presented as the district's current planning figures, not as final contract prices.
The board heard the update and did not take further action on the interconnect at the meeting.
