Title
Intergovernmental Agreement with City of Tucson for Storage, Recovery, and Exchange of Colorado River Water - WS85710001-1 (Ordinance S-43264)
Description
Request authorization for the City Manager, or designee, to execute an Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) between the City of Phoenix (Phoenix) and the City of Tucson (Tucson) for the storage, recovery, and exchange of Colorado River water. Further request authorization for the City Controller to disburse all funds related to this item.
Report
Summary
The IGA authorizes Phoenix to store and recover up to 37,000 acre-feet annually of its Colorado River water to Tucson’s Southern Avra Valley Storage and Recovery Project (SAVSARP). Phoenix will have first priority to store and recover at SAVSARP.
To date, Phoenix has stored 4,850 acre-feet at Tucson’s SAVSARP. The precedent for this proposed IGA is a pilot project approved by City Council in 2014 and amended in 2015. The proposed IGA is Phase II of what is known as the Phoenix-Tucson Exchange and provides a 10-year contract with increased storage capacity. The proposed IGA also terminates all existing agreements and amendments related to the pilot project.
Phoenix agrees to pay Tucson an annual Water Storage Fee which starts at $67.59 per acre-foot of water in 2017 and will increase over the term of the agreement to $73.66 per acre-foot by 2027. The Water Storage Fee is designed to cover Tucson’s operation, maintenance, replacement, and administrative costs, as well as a fee to facilitate expansion of Tucson's storage facility to accommodate Phoenix’s stored water. In return, Phoenix will have first priority to available storage capacity at SAVSARP, with only Tucson’s water having a higher priority.
Contract Term
The term of the IGA will begin upon execution and continue through Dec. 31, 2027.
Financial Impact
The total cost to store the maximum amount of 37,000 acre-feet per year of Phoenix’s CAP water in the Southern Avra Valley Storage and Recovery Project from 2017 through 2027 is $28,687,580, with an annual estimated expense of $2.5 million. The volume will fluctuate by year, therefore the total cost may be substantially less. Funding is available in the Water Services Department Capital Improvement Program budget.
Location
Water will be stored at Tucson’s SAVSARP, which is located near the intersection of Sandario and Snyder Hill Roads in Pima County, Ariz.
Department
Responsible Department
This item is submitted by Deputy City Manager Karen Peters and the Water Services Department.