WSP00384

• File Number: 8221.112
• Description: Central Arizona Project
• State: AZ
• Basin: Colorado Mainstem
• Date: 3/22/1989
• Title: Plan 6 Update: Regulatory Storage Division-Central Arizona Project
• Water Supply Pro - Doc Type: Report/Study

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Colorado River Vater Under Contract:
Colorado River water users were contacted
to see if they may be interested in
selling a portion of their land and water
rights:

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- Cibola Valley Irrigation District
- Colorado River Indian Tribe
- Hillander "C" Irrigation District
- Mohave Valley Irrigation and Drainage
District
- VeIl ton-Mohawk Irrigation and Drainage
District
- Yuma County Vater Users Association

Discussions were held with each entity on
the amounts of water available and
methods of delivery. Four expressed a
willingness to discuss the study concepts
further: The Cibola Valley Irrigation
District, the Colorado River Indian
Tribe, the Hillander "C" Irrigation
District, and the Mohave Valley
Irrigation and Drainage District. Since
the Colorado River Indian Tribe's offer
involved a short-term lease of their
water rights and it would not provide a
long-term assured water supply, the
cities requested that this alternative be
eliminated from further consideration.

Colorado River Vater Not Under Contract:

There is Colorado River water remaining
in the reserved allotment. Since this
water has been designated for a specific
use, .i t was eliminated from further
consideration.

Declined CAP Agricultural Vater:

Of the non-Indian agricultural entities,
22% have declined their CAP contracts
leaving about 140,000 acre-feet available
for reallocation. The Salt River Pima-
Maricopa Indian Vater Rights Settlement
Act addresses the reallocation so this
water supply source may not be available.

Ground-Vater Puraping from Private andl or
Federal Lands Near the CAP:

The sites that were under consideration
included:

- American Continental Ranch
- B.J. Ranch in Harquahala Valley
- Butler Valley
- Harquahala Valley Irrigation District
(HVroD)
- 1-10 Ranch (within the HVIDD)
- Painted Rock Ranch
- Paloma Ranch
- Privately-owned lands in Pinal County
- Sweetwater Ranch (within the HVIDD)

Only the Harquahala Valley Irrigation
District met the planning criteria. The
other sites were eliminated because of
such things as: Poor water quality;
located too far from the CAP aqueduct
or within an Active Management Area;
environmental impacts; involved the
acquisition of State lands; and water
rights impacts.

On December 15, 1989, a report on
alternative water supply sources was
presented to the Valley cities to
assist them in deciding whether they
wanted the study continued. The report
describes four potential water rights
sources that singly, or in combination,
could be leased, purchased, or
exchanged to replace the water supply
that Cliff Dam would have provided.
These sources include:

Cibola Valley Irri2ation District Only

Purchase an estimated 4,800 acres of
land and 18,600 acre-feet of Colorado
River water rights from the Cibola
Valley Irrigation District.

~ince Cibola would only develop 62
percent of the 30,000 acre-foot supply,
three additional water rights sources
were developed.

Cibola Valley 'Irri2ation District and
Mohave Valley Irri2ation District

Purchase Cibola's land and water
rights as described above and purchase
an estimated 4,000 acres of land and
11,400 acre-feet of Colorado River
water rights from the Mohave Valley
Irrigation District.

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