WIFA evaluating 6 proposed water importation projects
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State water authorities are evaluating several projects to import billions of gallons of water into Arizona. Photo: Kelvin Kuo/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
Arizona's Water Infrastructure Finance Authority (WIFA) has six proposals it could fund for projects that could eventually import billions of gallons of water into the drought-stricken state.
Why it matters: The Colorado River basin, which includes Arizona, has been in a historic "megadrought" for more than two decades, while demand for water is steadily increasing.
Catch up quick: WIFA last year began the process of soliciting proposals for long-term water augmentation projects that could bring up to 100 billion gallons of water into Arizona.
Driving the news: WIFA staff received six proposals in four categories: ocean water desalination, surface water sources, reclaimed water and other sources.
- Four of the six proposals came from water and utility services provider EPCOR.
- Two others came from Acciona-Fengate Water Augmentation Alliance and ZARETAW, LLC, which each submitted a desalination proposal.
What's next: Staff will evaluate the proposals and suggest between zero to six for the WIFA board to put under contract for feasibility studies.
- That decision is expected by Dec. 1, WIFA spokesperson Ben Alteneder told Axios.
- From there, he said, it'll likely be one to two years before the board makes a final decision on which proposals to fund.
- Details about the six proposals won't become publicly available until the board decides which ones will move forward.
Yes, but: Whichever projects receive WIFA money will most likely need outside funding sources as well, Alteneder told Axios.
The big picture: It'll be years before Arizona sees water from any of the projects, Ted Cooke, who leads WIFA's Long-Term Water Augmentation Fund Committee, said Wednesday at a board meeting.
- "We still have a lot to do. I don't want to get ahead of ourselves," Cooke said.
What they're saying: "If some of these projects are successful ... it will make Arizona more water resilient," Sarah Porter, director of the Kyl Center for Water Policy at Arizona State University's Morrison Institute for Public Policy, told Axios.
- The process of developing water augmentation concepts and determining which ones are doable will hopefully open the door for additional funding, she said.
Threat level: The Colorado River basin will remain in a "tier 1" shortage in 2026, and Arizona will lose 18% of its water allocation from the river next year as a result.
- The current operating guidelines for Colorado River water expire at the end of next year, and Arizona and other basin states are trying to negotiate a new agreement.
What we're watching: WIFA's long-term water augmentation fund, which was originally supposed to get $1 billion over three years, is now down to $376 million.
- The Legislature and Gov. Katie Hobbs cut another $84 million in this year's budget, much of which went toward other water projects.