CAP is governed by a 15-member popularly elected Board of Directors. CAWCD Board members are elected from Maricopa (10), Pima (4) and Pinal (1) counties, serve staggered six-year terms and are not compensated for their time. || CAP
Opinion: The Central Arizona Water Conservation District affects your life. Here’s how to make sense of the 14 candidates running for five down-ballot seats.
Editorial board The Arizona Republic
The Central Arizona Project Canal runs through Scottsdale, Ariz., carrying Colorado River water.
It’s near the bottom of the ballot.
And with 14 candidates running for five seats, it might be tempting to cast votes at random.
Please don’t.
The Central Arizona Water Conservation District (CAWCD) might be the most important race you’ve never heard of, but it directly affects your life. Especially now, given the mounting water crisis on the Colorado River.
The board oversees the 336-mile Central Arizona Project that delivers Colorado River to central Arizona, as well as a groundwater replenishment district. It touches the lives of some 5 million people – about 80% of the state’s population.
Yet the water its canals deliver is under considerable threat as storage in Lake Mead rapidly dwindles. The financial, maintenance and water delivery challenges the next board will face are immense.
That’s why making informed choices in this race is so important.
What am I voting for?
