Today Rep. Greg Stanton urged the House appropriators to consider funding critical water infrastructure projects in Arizona during a hearing before the House’s Energy and Water Development Subcommittee and related agencies.
Stanton spoke about the unique challenges that Arizona is facing from climate change: extreme heat, prolonged drought, forest fires and dangerous flash floods. He outlined several infrastructure projects that require federal investment by the US Army Corps of Engineers and the Bureau of Reclamation.
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“We know the kind of infrastructure we need to adapt to these changes, but it requires federal investment. I’ve worked with community leaders from small, rural, and tribal communities as well as our major metropolitan areas to identify Arizona’s top priority projects and prepare for the challenges ahead. These projects deal with our requirements for the environmental infrastructure, flood protection and protection as well as the maintenance of the water supply, ”said Stanton.
In his testimony, Stanton advocated investment in Arizona’s water infrastructure and urged the committee to:
• Allocated $ 4 million to the Arizona Environmental Infrastructure Program (Section 595). The 2020 Water Resources Development Act included Stanton’s legislation to expand the existing Section 595 environmental infrastructure program to the state of Arizona. The program will provide vital assistance to communities and tribal nations across the state in addressing their aging water and sanitation systems. Earlier this year, the first project, an aqueduct for the Pascua Yaqui tribe, was funded under this authority, and more than 15 parishes across the state have submitted letters of intent to the Corps of Engineers to participate in the program.
• Instruct the Corps of Engineers to conduct feasibility studies for the Cave Buttes Dam and Agua Fria River Trilby Wash to investigate flood risk management requirements and possible improvements to improve the safety of the two dams and strengthen flood protection for the region. Maricopa County’s Cave Buttes Dam provides flood protection for more than one million residents in unincorporated parts of the county and the cities of Phoenix, Glendale, Peoria, Tolleson, and Avondale in an area of $ 15 billion in residential and commercial real estate. The seepage of floods in the dam sounded the alarm for us to reduce the risk of the dam failing.
Similarly, thousands of residents and hundreds of critical facilities, including Luke Air Force Base and Interstate 10, rely on the Trilby Wash on the Agua Fria River or the McMicken Dam, a 15 km long earthen dam built in 1955 by the Corps of Engineers built flood protection. Due to the dam’s safety deficiencies, land subsidence, earth cracking, urbanization and non-compliance with current dam safety standards, the dam’s ability to maintain its current level of protection is questionable at best.
• Instruct the Corps of Engineers to expedite a report of the post-authorization change required to continue construction of the Tres Rios Ecosystem Restoration Project along the Salt and Gila River corridors in Phoenix. The Tres Rios Wetlands are part of Rio Reimagined, an ongoing green infrastructure project along the Rio Salado led by the late Senator John McCain and Rep. Ed Pastor. The project aims to provide flood protection and the use of treated wastewater from a regional sewage treatment plant to restore hydrological connectivity and preserve the habitat of fish and wildlife.
• Approved the construction of a flood control project for the Little Colorado River consisting of new and reconstructed dams to protect the Winslow community and other parts of Navajo County. The current levee system is at risk of exceeding or failing in a 100-year flood event, putting approximately 2,700 homes and 1,600 buildings, including almost all of the community’s critical public facilities – hospitals, schools, nursing homes and utilities – at risk. This important project significantly reduces the threat to the community and the surrounding areas.
• Provide the Bureau of Reclamation with the resources it needs to meet its drought contingency plan obligation to create or maintain 100,000 acres of water per year or more in the Colorado River system in order to conserve water Contribute in Lake Mead. The Colorado River is the lifeblood of the Lower Basin States, providing water that is vital to the drinking water of large urban areas such as Phoenix and Tucson, as well as a significant tribal, agricultural, and industrial resource. Historical drought conditions combined with the current persistent drought and the future effects of climate change are likely to continue to add significant economic, environmental and other impacts across the river basin.
• Funding of a sediment reduction study for the Bureau of Reclamation in the Verde river basin. Rising temperatures and a higher variability of precipitation in the watershed of the Verde River make the transmission of transmissions in the reservoirs of the Verde River crucial for a successful adaptation to climate change in water management. Implementing a long-term, feasible solution to control sediment build-up in the system will ensure effective water management in central Arizona for more than two million residents.
Rep. Stanton’s full testimony, as presented to the subcommittee, can be found HERE.
You can find a video of his testimony HERE.
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