 Picacho Pumping Plant. knowyourwaternews.com/pumping-plants-in-a-different-light
The Central Arizona Project Delivers Water – and a More Sustainable Future
The Central Arizona Project (CAP) is much more than a canal. It is an infrastructure powerhouse with 336 miles of aqueducts, tunnels, pumping stations, and pipelines that stretch from Lake Havasu to Tucson.
The CAP delivers Tucson’s yearly allocation of Colorado River water, our primary source of drinking water. Here are nine interesting facts about the CAP and its critical role in our sustainability and future:
- The federal government took 20 years and spent more than $4 billion to build the CAP.
- The CAP serves water to nearly six million people, more than 80% of the state's population.
- The system includes 14 pumping plants, four tunnels, a hydroelectric pump/generating plant, a storage reservoir, 39 radial gate structures to control water flow, and more than 50 turnouts to deliver water. There are also wildlife crossings and water tanks.
- The CAP is Arizona’s largest user of electricity, because facilities must move and lift water 2,900 vertical feet during its journey to Tucson.
- The CAP delivers Tucson’s yearly allocation of Colorado River water, approximately 46 billion gallons of water.
- The system directs our water allocation to one of three Tucson Water facilities: the Central Avra Valley Storage and Recovery Project, the Southern Avra Valley Storage and Recovery Project, and the Pima Mine Road Recharge Project, where it can fill 25 recharge basins covering 566 acres. Once the water is in the basins, it percolates into the aquifer.
- Tucson Water pumps (recovers) water from the aquifer -- approximately 32 billion gallons a year -- then treats it, tests it for quality, and delivers it to nearly 750,000 customers across a 390-square-mile service area.
- We store our unused Colorado River water allocation in the aquifer, like a bank savings account. To date, we have stored enough Colorado River water to meet more than five years' worth of demand!
- Tucson Water banks Colorado River water for storage partners Phoenix, Marana, Oro Valley, Vail, the Pascua Yaqui Tribe, and others. For our local partners, this allows access to their CAP water by connections through the Tucson Water system.
Since our facilities were constructed more than two decades ago, Tucson Water has been acquiring as much Colorado River water as it can in each year to plan for future generations. We are a thriving, water-resilient community.
Click here to watch a quick video and learn more about CAP's history and amazing infrastructure.
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