Arizona at a Crossroads

Throughout its history Arizona has stepped up to the plate and, as a community, made decisions to invest in the infrastructure that has empowered our state’s economic success.

• 1903: The Salt River Project
• 1968: Central Arizona Project
• 1985: Highways
• 2003: Research Infrastructure

Throughout its history Arizona has stepped up to the plate and, as a community, made decisions to invest in the infrastructure that has empowered our state’s economic success.

1903: The Salt River Project

The Salt River Project is the oldest multipurpose federal reclamation project in the nation. Established in 1903, it is older than the state of Arizona. In 2003, SRP is the nation's third-largest public power utility and one of Arizona's largest water suppliers, providing power to customers throughout a 2,900-square-mile service territory in central Arizona.

By 1900 the settlers of Arizona were faced with a problem. By 1888 more than 100,000 acres were under cultivation, and they were thirsty. Without high levels of natural rainfall, farmers and entrepreneurs like Jack Swilling had built the Tempe, San Francisco, Utah, Grand, Mesa, Arizona, Highland, and Salt River Valley canals, among others, to feed the crops that provided the base for much of Arizona’s development. But, this collection of canals could not provide the stable infrastructure Arizona’s farmers required to prosper.

Arizona’s settlers knew they had to invest in their future and the future of their region. In 1903 Arizona’s landowners got together and formed the Salt River Valley Water Users’ Association. They agreed to pledge more than 200,000 acres of their land as collateral for government loan to build the water storage and delivery system that became the Salt River Project.

The Salt River Project was key to building Arizona’s economic success in agriculture. Today, the Association delivers nearly 1 million acre-feet of water to a 240,000-acre service area in metropolitan Phoenix, providing the necessary infrastructure to support our standard of living and economic growth. The reservoir system feeds an extensive water delivery network comprising 1,265 miles of canals, laterals and smaller channels. The water storage and delivery system brought new life to the land, and many hold that, more than any other single factor, this system influenced the region's development.

1968: Central Arizona Project

As the state grew, Arizonans realized that the Salt River Project’s storage system and groundwater supplies alone would not be able to provide the infrastructure to support the expanding population, business and industry.

What became the Central Arizona Project began in the 1900’s with negotiations among the seven states of the Colorado River Basin for shares of Colorado River water. Arizona fought for its share and, in 1944, signed the Colorado River Compact with California, Nevada, New Mexico, Wyoming, Colorado and Utah.

In 1946, the Central Arizona Project Association was formed to educate Arizonans about the need for CAP and to lobby Congress to authorize its construction. Arizonans rallied and, in 1968, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed a bill approving construction of the Central Arizona Project (CAP). The bill provided for the Bureau of Reclamation of the Department of the Interior to fund and construct CAP and for another entity to repay the federal government for certain costs of construction when the system was complete. Arizonans formed the Central Arizona Water Conservation District in 1971, investing in a mechanism to pay for the reimbursable costs of construction and to manage and operate CAP.

CAP is now the manager of Arizona's single largest renewable water supply, designed to bring about 1.5 million acre-feet of Colorado River water per year to Pima, Pinal and Maricopa counties. It is a 336-mile long system of aqueducts, tunnels, pumping plants and pipelines and is the largest single resource of renewable water supplies in the state of Arizona, providing necessary infrastructure for prosperity and growth.

The primary purpose of CAP is to help Arizona conserve its groundwater supplies by importing surface water from the Colorado River. The state of Arizona suffers from a 2.5 million acre-foot groundwater overdraft—2.5 million acre-feet of groundwater are being removed from the ground faster than nature can replace them. This overdraft can cause serious structural damage to homes, agricultural lands and industry. CAP also provides flood control, recreation and fish and wildlife benefits.

1985: Highways

In the 1970’s and early 1980’s Arizona was again at a crossroads, but this time the critical decision was not about moving water, it was about moving people. Arizona continued to experience high rates of growth and, by the 1980’s, it was clear to the citizens of Maricopa County that they needed a freeway system.

In 1985 voters in Maricopa County elected to tax themselves in order to build the infrastructure that would support the region’s continued prosperity. From 1985 through to 2005 Maricopa County is building freeways for metro Phoenix with the funds from a half-cent state transaction privilege (sales) tax.

Since 1985, Arizonans have added 95 centerline miles of freeway for metro Phoenix, and by 2007 Maricopa County will have added 147 miles total since 1985. The system has already eased the traffic burden on many city streets, decreased traffic fatalities on surface streets across the valley, made new areas accessible for development and businesses and helped to support continued economic growth.

2003: Research Infrastructure

In 2003 Arizona is again at a critical juncture. We continue to tame water and land to build a prosperous economy and beautiful place to live. But, we are living in challenging economic times and need to work strategically to support Arizona’s continued prosperity. Today research capacity building investment in science and technology is proving to be the most critical factor in deciding the economic fate of regional economies.

Our competitor states are making, and have made, very substantial investments to increase the research capacity of their systems of higher education. Arizona’s choice is simple — invest or get left behind in the competition for economic prosperity.

Arizona’s most effective route for creating new and high value economic opportunity for its citizens is through increasing the research and innovative capacity of its largest metropolitan university—ASU. Benefits will come immediately, and they will impact the ability of Arizona to succeed for generations to come. Immediate benefits will arise directly from the building construction activity. A $185 million in construction spending will create approximately 3,000 jobs (person years). This investment will yield $330 million in total immediate, local economic impact. The investment will also generate a total of about $15 million in tax revenue. Once built, this new space will enhance Arizona State University’s capability to attract and conduct new research conservatively estimated at $50 million per year. Evidence suggests that $1 of expenditures creates $5 to $7 of regional economic activity. Therefore this additional $50 million will yield a minimum $250 million per year return on the $14 million annual investment required to create this economic chain reaction. In the long term, Arizona can reasonably anticipate that a host of new companies-- and perhaps entire new industry clusters-- will be created by intellectual property and technological innovations developed within these new ASU facilities. ASU is now rated a “top ten” university in spinning off new startup companies (per total research expenditures). The future will belong to those regions that have strong knowledge-based economies, built on the success of their universities as knowledge producers.