Conflicts in Water Transfer from Irrigation to Municipal Use in Semiarid Environments

Abstract

Groundwater is the principal supply for irrigation and for rapidly increasing municipal water requirements in Arizona. As a result of this increasing demand water tables are declining at an ever increasing rate. Even with importation of water through the Central Arizona Project, transfer of water from agricultural to urban use is inevitable as the State continues to grow. In the Phoenix area this transfer is occurring progressively without undue conflict. As the City expands, adjacent farmland is developed and water formerly applied to crops is used for domestic purposes. In the Tucson area, which at present is entirely dependent on groundwater, outlying irrigated lands have been purchased and retired by the City and nearby mines to secure water rights. This forced retirement of farmland does present several conflicts which are discussed in this paper.