Colorado River water allocation (Phoenix: houses, wages, tax)

[gemstone1]

Nothing is going to get better until the 7 state agreement is re-negotiated to address the misuse (IMO) of water allowed per the exiting agreement....see this article about golf courses in the Coachella Valley in CA.
CA has senior rights to Colorado River water, and will not relinquish those rights without some creative thinking/bargaining.

Per the article:

"For its size, the Coachella Valley has a relatively large water allocation. Though its population is much smaller than the Las Vegas area, it gets more imported water."

"If the Coachella Valley were mandated to further reduce its water usage, Estrada (Cástulo Estrada vice president of the water district’s board) said he expects “we probably would start putting limitations on the golf courses.”

Estrada said the district’s officials also have the authority, if necessary, to limit groundwater pumping. But Estrada said he and other board members feel such restrictions aren’t necessary at this time.

“There is enough water,” Estrada said “We need to be smart about how we do things. But we are not in a crisis right now.”

"There are about 120 golf courses in the Coachella Valley, and they account for 18% of the area’s water use. A single course can consume as much as 1 million gallons a day."

Lets see, 120 golf courses times 1 million gallons a day, times 365 days in a year equals a lot of precious water being used for a small percentage of the population. My math says 43.8 billion gallons of water.

It's been said that one acre foot of water can support the annual use of about 3 single family homes.
1 acre foot of water equals 325,851 gallons of water...so 1 single family home uses about 100k gallons
per year.

So, those 120 golf courses are using enough water to support 438,000 single family homes.

Now to be fair, not all of that water comes from the CA share of the Colorado River allocation, but IMO, that is still too much water being used just to keep the grass green.

Does anyone have stats of water usage on Phoenix area golf courses, and would that water support the proposed expansion in the West Valley ?

[Ponderosa]

People are always singling out golf courses as water wasters. It is just wrong. Golf course irrigation is one of the highest beneficial uses of water meaning the economic value added per acre-foot consumed is among the highest. Golf courses are critical for winter tourism that brings millions and millions of dollars to desert cities and towns. The tourism industry in Phoenix employs thousands of persons. Just look at the Phoenix open with hundreds of thousands of people in attendance. It is much more complicated than just "keeping the grass green".

There is more to vibrant economy than single family houses.

[wit-nit]

Biggest water wasters are homeowners watering their lawns in the middle of the day (especially summertime) where 80% + goes up in evaporation and then there are those water users who let water runoff into the street constantly.

[Greenvalleyfan]

Originally Posted by Ponderosa

People are always singling out golf courses as water wasters. It is just wrong. Golf course irrigation is one of the highest beneficial uses of water meaning the economic value added per acre-foot consumed is among the highest. Golf courses are critical for winter tourism that brings millions and millions of dollars to desert cities and towns. The tourism industry in Phoenix employs thousands of persons. Just look at the Phoenix open with hundreds of thousands of people in attendance. It is much more complicated than just "keeping the grass green".

There is more to vibrant economy than single family houses.

I agree. And, most people east of us think the water crisis is just our problem. They will find out that it's their problem also when they spend 10 dollars for a head of lettuce etc. Arizona is one of the top producers of agriculture. California is number one by a larger number. And, that is why they will always receive the largest amount of water.

[KurtAZ]

Golf courses aside...why does the Coachella Valley need CO River water? They are sitting on one of the largest aquifers in the country (39M Acre feet) albeit re-charged with CO River water due to over pumping? Maybe limit your water use?

Clean Water Coachella Valley • Aquifer

[Ponderosa]

Originally Posted by Greenvalleyfan

I agree. And, most people east of us think the water crisis is just our problem. They will find out that it's their problem also when they spend 10 dollars for a head of lettuce etc. Arizona is one of the top producers of agriculture. California is number one by a larger number. And, that is why they will always receive the largest amount of water.

Many places east of us have far worse problems. The Ogallala aquifer in the plains is being drained far faster that it is being recharged from rainfall. A massive part of the country depends on this dwindling source of water. Dallas and the surrounding area is at the mercy of intermittent droughts and faces water restrictions with some frequency. Further east, polluted rivers are the source of drinking water for millions.

It is easy to look at Arizona conclude that because it is desert it must certainly be living on borrowed time with respect to water. The reality is that our domestic water future, particularly in Phoenix and surrounds, is relatively secure. We will have to see what the future holds with respect to snowpack replenishment and choices will need to be made. But we are not about to dry up and turn to sagebrush any time soon.

[phetaroi]

Originally Posted by Greenvalleyfan

I agree. And, most people east of us think the water crisis is just our problem. They will find out that it's their problem also when they spend 10 dollars for a head of lettuce etc. Arizona is one of the top producers of agriculture. California is number one by a larger number. And, that is why they will always receive the largest amount of water.

Arizona is 31st in the country regarding agriculture. I would not describe that as a "top producer".

[Valley Native]

Originally Posted by phetaroi

Arizona is 31st in the country regarding agriculture. I would not describe that as a "top producer".

Yes, Arizona ranks 31st, which comprises only 0.89% of the total agriculture in the nation (a very minuscule amount). With this in consideration, over 70% of the available water in AZ goes to agriculture, which is a clear indication that changes need to be made. I'm not against farming at all, but farming in the desert when there's a water shortage makes no sense ... especially water intensive crops like cotton or alfalfa. Worst of all is all the billions of dollars in federal subsidies paid to those farmers.

[WRM20]

Originally Posted by Ponderosa

People are always singling out golf courses as water wasters. It is just wrong. Golf course irrigation is one of the highest beneficial uses of water meaning the economic value added per acre-foot consumed is among the highest. Golf courses are critical for winter tourism that brings millions and millions of dollars to desert cities and towns. The tourism industry in Phoenix employs thousands of persons. Just look at the Phoenix open with hundreds of thousands of people in attendance. It is much more complicated than just "keeping the grass green".

There is more to vibrant economy than single family houses.

There should be zero golf courses in a desert.

[KurtAZ]

Originally Posted by WRM20

There should be zero golf courses in a desert.

That's funny...AZ is historically a retirement haven. That includes numerous golf courses all over the state. Per a 2020 study, Golf Courses use 2% of the overall water in the state and provide a direct economic impact of over $4.2B in wages, tourism and tax revenue. Golf courses for the most part use non-potable water and have been effectively cutting down their water usage through water conservation efforts.

You may not like golf, I know I don't care about it, but it is not the big bad boogie man that people make it out to be. To put that into perspective...Ag contributes about $23.3B/yr for 70% of usage...or $332M per percentage point. Golf contributes $2.1B per percentage point. Thinking Golf is a much better ROI on water usage even though it is a leisure activity vs actively producing crops.