CAGRD backs Lake Mead conservation role for 2027-28
Central Arizona Project, Arizona · Meeting date: October 15, 2026 · Published: October 16, 2026
The CAGRD and Underground Storage Committee has recommended board approval for CAGRD to join the 700+ System Conservation Plan for 2027 and 2028. The district has yet to set its conservation volume, but staff said it expects to receive Water Bank credits on a one-for-one basis for water left in Lake Mead.
Key points
- The committee unanimously recommended that the CAWCD board approve CAGRD participation in the voluntary 700+ System Conservation Plan for calendar years 2027 and 2028.
- CAGRD will determine its conservation volume after ensuring it retains sufficient water to support CAP recovery or firming for municipal and industrial subcontractors.
- Staff said Water Bank credits received at a one-for-one ratio would meet CAGRD replenishment obligations in place of wet water normally supplied annually.
- The decision comes as Arizona short-term water prices rise, with system-conservation payments establishing a recent floor of about $400/acre-foot, according to WestWater Research.
Full report
The Central Arizona Groundwater Replenishment District (CAGRD) is preparing to make Lake Mead conservation a component of its 2027-28 replenishment strategy, after its Underground Storage Committee unanimously recommended that the Central Arizona Water Conservation District board approve participation in the 700+ System Conservation Plan.
The October 15 recommendation does not set a conservation volume. CAGRD manager Vivian Baji said the district is still determining how much water it can leave in Lake Mead, principally because CAGRD also supports CAP recovery or firming for municipal and industrial subcontractors.
Subject to that role, CAGRD expects to conserve as much water as possible under the voluntary Lower Basin initiative. The plan forms part of the Lower Basin states’ proposal, and CAGRD would join other municipal and industrial subcontractors and tribal communities in contributing water to Lake Mead.
The operational change is significant for a replenishment district that normally directs wet water to groundwater savings facilities for storage. Baji said participation would reduce the volume sent to those facilities. In exchange, CAGRD anticipates receiving Water Bank credits on a one-for-one basis for its conserved volume. Those credits would be committed to replenishment, allowing CAGRD to meet the same replenishment obligation through a different mechanism.
Committee members approved the recommendation without opposition. The chair said CAGRD represented the largest single contributor on a previously presented chart of prospective 700+ participants, accounting for roughly one-third of the water shown.
The committee’s action comes against a tightening Arizona water-acquisition market. WestWater Research told the committee that approximately 500,000 acre-feet had traded in Arizona’s water market in 2026 to date, with about half comprising long-term storage credits and roughly three-quarters representing short-term water.
WestWater senior associate Audrey Goddard said system-conservation programmes, rather than CAP capital charges, now set the floor for short-term CAP water prices. The 500+ Plan paid $262/acre-foot for forbearance from 2022, while the Lower Colorado River Basin System Conservation and Efficiency Program offered $400/acre-foot for three-year agreements and $330/acre-foot for one-year agreements.
Goddard said long-term storage-credit prices had risen by an average of 11% in the Phoenix AMA and 12% in the Tucson AMA in recent years. Phoenix AMA prices were around $550/acre-foot in 2026, with one Chandler purchase from Gila River Water Storage priced at $636/acre-foot.
CAGRD’s board is expected to consider the 700+ agreements at its November meeting, according to staff.
This summary was generated by AI based on the source document and may contain errors.
Source: CAGRD and Underground Storage Committee, Central Arizona Project