By Salt River Project
The Department of the Interior has announced the approval of $8.5M for the Verde Reservoirs Sediment Mitigation Project Feasibility Study, which could restore storage loss due to sedimentation in reservoirs that supply water for the Phoenix metropolitan area.
Salt River Project has partnered with the Bureau of Reclamation and 22 municipal, tribal and agricultural water users on a study for restoring a loss of capacity in Bartlett and Horseshoe reservoirs, which are located on the Verde River in the Tonto National Forest and operated by SRP.
The Verde River watershed covers nearly 7,000 square miles across central and northern Arizona. Over the last 70 years, the accumulation of natural sedimentation in the Verde River basin has significantly reduced the water storage capacity in these two reservoirs.
The study will examine solutions to address sedimentation and restore lost capacity, including the feasibility of raising Bartlett Dam on the Verde River by up to 102 feet. The project could increase total water storage capacity on the Verde River by 350,000 acre-feet – more than doubling the ability to capture the highly variable flows of the Verde River and enough water to provide for about a million Arizona households.
In addition to protecting water for SRP customers, the Bartlett Dam expansion alternative, if approved by Congress, will be essential to bringing new supplies of surface water to central Arizona that can help alleviate the current shortages on the Colorado River, another major source of water for the Valley. (Source)