(Editor’s note: Opinion pieces are published for discussions purposes only.)
By Joanna Allhands | Arizona Republic
Opinion: Phoenix-area cities will experience more pain than we thought under the drought contingency plan, even in a low-level shortage
Pinal County farmers will be most severely impacted when a water shortage is declared on Lake Mead.
If a three-state drought contingency plan (DCP) is approved, the Colorado River water on which many of these farmers rely would be completely cut in a Tier 1 shortage, when Lake Mead reaches 1,075 feet of elevation.
If the predictions are right, this first-ever shortage could be declared as early as 2020, a decade before farmers there were supposed to be off the water for good.
Somewhat overlooked in the discussion is the impact to cities when a shortage is declared under DCP – likely because most of the water on which cities rely is high-priority water that would not be cut in a Tier 1 shortage, regardless of whether DCP is in place.
