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Phoenix warns historic Colorado River lows could force major cuts starting in 2027; city leans on drought plan
Summary
City adviser Max Wilson told the parks board Phoenix gets about 40% of its water from the Colorado River and that federal rulemaking and continuing low flows could trigger very large cuts beginning in 2027. Phoenix is using storage, groundwater and a drought-management plan to prepare.
Max Wilson, the City of Phoenix's water resources management adviser, told the Parks and Recreation Board the city faces an unprecedented combination of low river flows and rising temperatures that threaten the Colorado River supplies that provide roughly 40% of Phoenix's daily water.
"We are looking at the lowest flow conditions on the Colorado River in at least 1,200 years," Wilson said, summarizing tree-ring and hydrology data. He said higher temperatures rather than reduced precipitation are reducing runoff and river flows, and that major reservoirs such as Lake Powell and Lake Mead are at critically low levels.
Wilson said the federal Bureau of Reclamation has declared shortages in recent years but its draft analyses suggest even larger cuts will be needed to stabilize the system:…
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