Agreement will deliver 9,009 acre-feet of CRIT Intentionally Created Surplus Water To The Central Arizona Water Conservancy
District and complete CRIT’s involvement in the Drought Contingency Plan
The Colorado River Indian Tribes and the Central Arizona Water Conservation District (CAWCD) have reached an agreement to deliver 9,009 acre-feet of CRIT Intentionally Created Surplus (ICS) water to the CAWCD. This represents the last remaining water CRIT made available as part of the Drought Contingency Plan (DCP) that was agreed to back in 2019.
The ICS was previously conserved between 2020 and 2022, when in response to requests from the federal government, CRIT conserved water to help stabilize Lake Mead. CRIT conserved approximately 160,000 acre-feet and was compensated $38 million for 150,000 acre-feet of conservation (the average value of that water was approximately $254 per acre-foot). There was additional conserved water of approximately 10,009 acre-feet for which CRIT was never compensated. It was converted into ICS so it would not be lost and is still behind Hoover Dam in Lake Mead.
Under the agreement, the CAWCD will compensate CRIT at $590 per acre-foot, for a total of $5.3 million, to be executed in two payments.
The CAWCD is the public agency that operates and maintains the physical infrastructure of the Central Arizona Project (CAP).
The ICS Agreements include requirements to account for system and evaporation losses, accounting, and use. By entering into this agreement now, CRIT will avoid future reductions in its ICS to account for evaporation and system losses; CRIT’s ICS water has already been allocated a 10% reduction, which is why the account balance is now 9009 acre-feet. In addition to system losses and evaporation, there are also upcoming limitations that restrict ICS recovery when Lake Mead falls to certain elevations. In agreeing to allow CAWCD to recover CRIT’s ICS, Tribal Council is being proactive in gaining compensation for this remaining water made available in the DCP prior to this water being devalued or otherwise lost.
Under the ICS Agreements, only holders of ICS may recover another holder’s ICS and CAWCD was one of only two entities in Arizona eligible to recover CRIT’s ICS.
“This agreement reflects Tribal Council’s continued leadership in advocating for responsible and sustainable use of Colorado River water supplies. Under the ICS agreements, it became clear that if we did not act now, this water would soon be lost to CRIT. Instead, by entering into this Agreement, we can provide economic value to CRIT while also taking steps to protect the Colorado River through the sustainable use of its resources,” said CRIT Chairwoman Amelia Flores.
CRIT and CAWCD also intend to keep working together on future water-resource matters in Arizona, including protecting, developing and enhancing their respective water resources and the protection and needs of the Colorado River under Tribal law and other environmental authorities. “We appreciate CAWCD in working with CRIT to close the books on CRIT’s final chapter in DCP while also acknowledging we all need to work together to protect the needs of the Colorado River under CRIT law and otherwise” said Councilman Tommy Drennan.
CRIT’s water rights date back to the creation of the reservation, March 3, 1865, and are the most senior tribal water rights in the Lower Colorado River basin.