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Infrastructure Planning for the Next Century at the Salt River Project By Ron Klawitter
Theodore Roosevelt Dam is the largest dam in the SRP system.
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12 | MUNICIPAL WATER LEADER | November/December 2020
While research conducted by SRP and the Bureau of Reclamation shows the effects of climate change on the water yield of SRP watersheds to be relatively minor compared to the reductions that other western river basins may see, climate modeling data also show that Arizona can expect more extreme weather patterns; bigger floods; and longer, more-severe droughts. This means that maintaining SRP’s annual carryover storage capacity is critical to managing variations in river flows. Water is precious in the desert, and every drop that can be stored during wet periods can help customers during dry periods. Over the years, however, the accumulation of natural sedimentation in the Verde River basin has significantly reduced the water storage capacity of one of the two reservoirs in the basin, Horseshoe Reservoir, creating uncertainty about SRP’s future water management capabilities. In fact, around 45,000 acre-feet of storage—nearly one-third of the reservoir’s original water capacity—has been lost to sedimentation. That municipalwaterleader.com
PHOTOS COURTESY OF SRP.
ore than a century ago, the founders of the Salt River Project (SRP) had a vision to build a dam and a reservoir that would allow people to thrive in the harsh desert of central Arizona. SRP has followed that original vision by expanding its system from a single dam—Theodore Roosevelt Dam—to a system made up of seven dams and reservoirs with a total storage capacity of more than 4 million acre-feet. Today, SRP continues to build on that foundation through planning efforts intended to provide reliable water and power to the thriving Phoenix metropolitan area for another century. With more than 8.3 million acres of watershed, SRP delivers more than 800,000 acre-feet of water annually from the Salt and Verde Rivers to 10 cities and towns as well as to agricultural customers. Issues such as climate change, forest fires endangering the watershed, and a growing population can be daunting, but SRP is preparing to provide a reliable source of water not only today but in the future as well.
