Goodyear approves CAWCD deal to firm 1,504 acre-feet of Colorado River supply
Goodyear Water Department, Arizona · Meeting date: November 2, 2026 · Published: November 3, 2026
The agreement gives Goodyear access to banked water as it faces a 14% shortage in Central Arizona Project deliveries in the next calendar year. The city can recover the supply through its own wells or have it delivered through CAWCD infrastructure.
Key points
- Council approved the Firming Water Delivery Agreement with CAWCD unanimously, 7-0.
- Goodyear expects a 1,504 acre-foot reduction in deliveries in the first year of the 14% shortage.
- The first-year firming charge is US$400 per acre-foot, although staff said the net first-year increase would be about US$111,000 because the city will not pay the current US$326 per acre-foot charge on the curtailed supply.
- The annually renewing agreement allows either independent recovery through city-owned wells or dependent recovery using CAWCD and CAP infrastructure.
Full report
Goodyear City Council has unanimously approved a water-firming agreement with the Central Arizona Water Conservation District (CAWCD), providing a mechanism to replace 1,504 acre-feet of Central Arizona Project supply expected to be curtailed in the next calendar year.
The agreement responds to a 14% shortage affecting the city’s Colorado River supply. It enables Goodyear to obtain water banked by the Arizona Water Banking Authority, which was established in 1996 to store then-surplus Colorado River water underground for use during shortage conditions.
Water Services Director Barbara Chappell told council that the banking authority has stored more than 3.8 million acre-feet statewide. The firming agreement sets out how Goodyear may access the supplies allocated to support subcontractors facing reductions.
The city will have two recovery options. Under an independent model, Goodyear can recover water through wells it already owns in its well field, then use its own treatment and distribution infrastructure. Under a dependent model, CAWCD would use Central Arizona Project infrastructure and operations to recover and convey the water.
Chappell said independent recovery could make sense during smaller shortages, because it would place water directly into the city’s distribution system and avoid the US$400 per acre-foot firming fee. Delivery through the CAWCD system could be preferable when the city needs supply for its surface-water plant.
The first-year firming rate is US$400 per acre-foot. However, Chappell said the city will not pay the current US$326 per acre-foot charge for the 1,500 acre-feet being curtailed, leaving an estimated first-year incremental cost of about US$111,000.
The agreement renews automatically each year unless cancelled. Goodyear’s annual delivery schedule is submitted at the end of September, with deliveries planned on a calendar-year basis. CAWCD provides no water-quality assurances under the arrangement, leaving Goodyear responsible for treatment.
Council approved the agreement 7-0 without public comment.
This summary was generated by AI based on the source document and may contain errors.
Source: City Council Regular Meeting, Goodyear Water Department