Water Demand Management: Perspectives of a Raw Water Provider

Siegel, Richard S.; ,

Water Demand Management: Perspectives of a Raw Water Provider

by Richard S. Siegel, Water Planning Dep, Phoenix, United States,

Document Type: Proceeding Paper

Part of: Water Resources Planning and Management and Urban Water Resources

Abstract:

The Salt River Project (SRP) is a major power and raw water provider in the Phoenix metropolitan area. SRP provides raw water for municipal, industrial, urban irrigation, and agricultural uses to a service area of approximately 240,000 acres (Figure 1). SRP is the oldest project created under the Federal Reclamation Act of 1902. SRP's water resources primarily come from a 13,000 square mile watershed, which is located in central and eastern Arizona (Figure 1). Average annual runoff from the watershed is about 1.2 million acre feet. Runoff from the watershed drains into the Salt and Verde Rivers, where it is stored in six reservoirs with a total capacity of about 2 million acre feet. Water is transported to customers via a 1,023-mile long canal and lateral system. SRP augments its surface water supplies with about 250 deep wells located throughout its service area. Since the 1940's, groundwater has accounted for about one-third of SRP's total water resources, although for the three years preceding 1990, groundwater accounted for only about 5% of SRP's total water resources. For the period 1980-1989, total water deliveries averaged about 969,000 acre feet per year.

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