The Mark Wilmer Pumping Plant, which draws water from Lake Havasu and vaults it 3,000 vertical feet over the Buckskin Mountains on the way 336 miles to Phoenix and Tucson. Wilmer and Charlie Reed were the lead lawyers in winning the landmark Arizona v. California lawsuit, guaranteeing the CAP. The plant accounts for 50% of the $4 billion CAP's energy use (Central Arizona Project photo).
In 1922 the Colorado River Compact — cornerstone of "the Law of the River” — was signed by states of the Upper and Lower basins. Arizona didn't ratify it until 1944, complaining it apportioned water to the basins rather than to individual states (Library of Congress).
Parker Dam, completed in 1938, impounding the Lake Havasu reservoir. California put the first "straw in the river" here with the Colorado River Aqueduct. It was conceived by the legendary William Mulholland and completed in 1939 (Library of Congress).
The Parker Dam spillways (Library of Congress).
The Supreme Court under Chief Justice Earl Warren decided Arizona v. California in Arizona's favor in 1964. As long as the Colorado River had 7.5 million acre feet, California was entitled to 50%, Arizona 46%, and Nevada 4%. It cleared the way for the CAP (Library of Congress).
In 1968, President Lyndon Johnson has just signed legislation authorizing the CAP and hands his pen to Arizona Sen. Carl Hayden, the most instrumental lawmaker in winning the project. It would face many hurdles before construction began, including being canceled by President Jimmy Carter. In the end, the CAP was saved (Library of Congress).
Water and the southwest. The map shows the Central Arizona Project and the extensive California Water Project.
Construction on the CAP canal began in 1973 and proceeded across the desert until reaching Tucson in 1994. It required a number of pumping stations to aid gravity in delivering the water. This is the Little Harquahala Pumping Station northwest of Phoenix. One of my partners on the ambulance went on to become the on-duty EMT for the construction work (Central Arizona Project photo).
This map shows pumping plants, pipelines, siphons, and other mechanisms needed to keep the canal flowing.
Another map. Note the siphon to carry CAP water under the Salt and Gila rivers.
The Waddell Pump and Generating Station. The New Waddell dam was completed in 1994, replacing the 1927 Carl Pleasant Dam on the Agua Fria River, to allow Lake Pleasant to become large enough to hold CAP water. The new dam tripled the capacity of the lake (Central Arizona Project photo).
A canal outlet following a pumping station or siphon (Central Arizona Project photo).
The Salt-Gila Pumping Station west of Phoenix (Central Arizona Project photo).
The Superstition Mountains Recharge Basin near Queen Creek supports the Central Arizona Groundwater Replenishment District (Central Arizona Project photo).
A mountain lion prepares to use the wildlife crossing at the Picacho pumping station (Central Arizona Project photo).
Below: Photos of the CAP canal (Central Arizona Project photos).
EPILOGUE: Phoenix used almost entirely Salt River Project water from the dams and reservoirs on the Salt and Verde rivers in 1970 (Metro population: 971,228). Today metropolitan Phoenix, with a population of 4.4 million, depends on 40 percent of Colorado River water for its requirements.
Many who worked on the project later regrets, including Carl Hayden, according to the late historian Jack August Jr., and my mother who worked for the Arizona Interstate Stream Commission, the lead agency in pushing the CAP. The night the bill was signed, she drove me through the citrus groves, farms, abundant shade trees — and told me to remember it. Because of the CAP, she said, it would all be gone in a few years.
Ironically, California argued that Arizona would use the water for suburban development, not agriculture or to replace groundwater as Arizona claimed. Subsequent events proved California was correct.
And it's pronounced SEE-A-PEE, not like a baseball hat.
RELATED: Phoenix 101: Water
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My book, A Brief History of Phoenix, is available to buy or order at your local independent bookstore, or from Amazon.
Read more Phoenix history in Rogue's Phoenix 101 archive.
"Brillant" technolgy ensures the human Extinction.
The CEE A PEE was a fatal follow up to Roosevelts flood irtigation for the
Great Sonoran Desert.
The towing icebergs plan is dead.
Maybe Elon can pipe earth water from Mars.
Dunes sand worms are here.
My eyes have turned blue from inhaling their shit. More likely from the dust of destructive bull shitting real estate "developers."
Posted by: Cal Lash | December 19, 2022 at 05:00 PM
Great photos
Thanks for the history.
Posted by: Cal Lash | December 19, 2022 at 11:34 PM
I've been ordered to post a comment, so here goes.
* When I saw the column I thought, oh oh, this is really going to fire up that tall, redheaded stranger who lives out in the desert. And I was right.
* Do you folks remember when the CAP was built, it resulted in an unknown number of horses falling in it and drowning? Which led to the CAF. Central Arizona Fence. Bet that was one hell of a contract.
*If we don't get to the end of this drought, the CAP may end up being the world's longest skateboard park.
There's my comment boss, put those six shooters away.
Posted by: Ruben | December 20, 2022 at 12:13 PM
Nice article and photos Jon. Thank you.
I'm with Cal (kinda). Only private funding will provide sustainability. Ain't no one gonna fill their swimming pool with bottled water. All hail Jack Swilling and Frank Murphy!
Government intervention & funding blows nice big bubbles that pop so well. Oh well, too late now.
Posted by: Michael | December 20, 2022 at 01:15 PM
I was a surveyor for the BOR from 1982 - 1999. I was a young man working out in the middle of nowhere laying out the alignment for the CAP and the safety of Dams act. Surveying back then was much different than today. GPS has made surveying much easier.
Posted by: William Rozum | December 20, 2022 at 01:48 PM
For more on this boondoggle and President Carter rightly canceling it and "environmentalist" Arizona Representative Morris Udall getting it back,
See the Washington Post Article on March 20, 1977 by Bill Richards titled "
Udall presses for huge project."
Ps, and thanks to my Apache slave Ruben for posting about fencing.
Posted by: Cal Lash | December 20, 2022 at 06:42 PM
When I was young I had the privilege of working with Mark Wilmer on some water cases. He was a very sharp lawyer and a fine man.
I once watched him argue a case I had worked on at the Arizona Supreme Court. That court could be pretty rough on lawyers. When Wilmer argued, though, they listened in respectful silence.
Posted by: Protoplasm | December 21, 2022 at 08:48 AM
Chris is that you?
Posted by: Cal Lash | December 21, 2022 at 09:09 PM
Protoplasm's remarks reminded me of the rich history of attorneys,like Truman Young, Tom Collins, Ted Matz, Steve Silver and even more famous lawyers.
And politicians (Jack Williams) and sports figures (Jesse Owens). Many doctors( my doctor of 30 years played basketball at the Y many days) and other professionals that worked out steamed and ate lunch at the Downtown YMCA.
I recall kiddingly asking my bosses in the police Organized Crime Unit to pay my gym dues as a result of intelligence overheard in the steam room.
How about it Jon?
Posted by: Cal Lash | December 21, 2022 at 09:33 PM
CAP was a project back when we could do projects.
In the recent past Propane Jane had a project that cost AZ hundreds of millions of dollars.
Covid Doug's waffling cost actual lives.
Container Ducey cost millions of dollars.
Remove Containers Doug will cost millions of dollars.
Voucher Ducey is on the way to costing $300 million and growing.
Even the nicknames don't roll off the tongue the way they used to.
(:-(
Posted by: Ruben | December 22, 2022 at 04:12 PM
Ruben, thought you should know, a Brooklyn High school group of teen girls have formed a Luddite club per an article in the New York Times.
Posted by: Cal Lash | December 24, 2022 at 03:23 PM
I recently realized the Bureau of Reclamation has a bunch of historic photos on its site. There are photo galleries decade by decade.
Posted by: Pat | December 25, 2022 at 11:07 AM
This piece only reinforces my view that any individual who is worrying about conserving water is a fool, unless it's for your own use. Otherwise, the politicians and developers will keep the incestuous loop of growth going until there really is. no. more. water.
Posted by: DoggieCombover | December 28, 2022 at 01:17 PM
NY times has another new article
Posted by: Cal Lash | December 28, 2022 at 08:05 PM
HNY, All:
I hope this finds you well. I wanted to make sure you were hip to this latest attempt by the IREC to develop every bit of AZ before climate change makes it unlivable.
Here’s to a year of miracles and wonder - we’re gonna need them.
https://tucson.com/news/local/subscriber/firm-wants-to-desalt-sonoran-seawater-sell-it-to-arizona-cities/article_7729e2ee-7fdd-11ed-b85b-afccc6a59636.html
Posted by: Gary O’Brien | January 02, 2023 at 08:42 AM