Extended drought conditions, continued growth in the Coconino Plateau region of northern Arizona, and water supply studies have caused concern about future regional water supplies. Because the Coconino Plateau Water Advisory Council wants to do all it can to ensure an adequate supply of water into the future, the council asked the Bureau of Reclamation to conduct an appraisal level regional water study. 

The Bureau of Reclamation is a federal agency within the Department of Interior. Its mission is to manage, develop, and protect water and related resources in an environmentally and economically sound manner in the interest of the American public. Reclamation is the agency that planned, designed and constructed the Salt River Project and the Central Arizona Project, which now deliver surface water to much of central Arizona. Reclamation works with many towns, cities, counties, tribes, and private entities to develop water resource plans and help develop water resources.

When Reclamation conducts a federal appraisal study, it uses existing data and information to identify plans for meeting current and projected objectives. Appraisal studies present an array of options that have been screened and evaluated to justify potential Federal involvement and identify at least one potential solution.

The objectives of the North Central Arizona Water Supply Study were to determine if there would be an unmet water demand on the Coconino Plateau, projected to 2050.  If the finding concluded there would be demand exceeding supply, the study would determine if there was at least one regional alternative that could meet future water supply needs.  The appraisal study would also determine if there was a federal objective which would allow a plan to be carried forward to the feasibility level.

Reclamation worked with representatives of interested regional stakeholder groups. These groups included the Navajo Nation, the Hopi Tribe, the, Havasupai Tribe, the Grand Canyon Trust, the U.S. Geological Survey, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the City of Flagstaff, the City of Page, the City of Williams, Coconino County, and the Arizona Department of Water Resources, 

The study team estimated population growth for the study area and estimated water demands through the year 2050.  After concluding that unmet water demands in the region are likely, even if additional conservation methods are implemented, the team identified potential sources of additional supply and eventually identified several plans which could address the identified unmet water demands in the region.  The alternatives were further evaluated relative to their economic, environmental, and social impacts. 

The study determined:

• There are unmet demands in the study area which will develop by the year 2050.

• Three alternatives were identified as potential solutions that could meet future unmet demands in the region.

• There are Federal objectives that exist in all of these regional plans, and justification therefore exists for recommending any or all of these alternatives to be carried forward into a Feasibility Study.

Federal objectives include contributing to national economic development consistent with protecting the environment; implementing structured approaches to water resource problem-solving; and encouragement of a rational framework for sound decision making.

A Feasibility Study is a detailed investigation authorized by law or Congress to determine the desirability of seeking Congressional authorization to implement a project. Feasibility Studies require a completed appraisal report, congressional support and authorization, federal budgetary appropriations, and a detailed Environmental Impact Study pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act and other related statues.

A Feasibility Study, as the name implies, determines if a federal project (based on the alternatives proposed in the appraisal study) would be feasible (in the best interests of the area and the United States).  A feasibility study does not guarantee that a project will be authorized.

The Coconino County Water Advisory Council has moved forward in seeking to obtain congressional support and authorization for a feasibility study.  For an update on this activity, click HERE. <LINK TO PRESS RELEASE ON WASHINGTON D.C. TRIP>

To read the entire North Central Water Supply Study, go to: http://www.usbr.gov/lc/phoenix/reports/ncawss/ncawss.html