CAP Supports Colorado River Delta Pulse Flow Program

Central Arizona Project (CAP), the steward of central and southern Arizona’s Colorado River supplies, supports and has worked cooperatively on a number of river-related initiatives involving Mexico, our neighboring states and the federal government. One of these initiatives is the Environmental Pulse Flow which is scheduled to begin on March 27.

The Pulse Flow will release 105,000 acre-feet (approximately 34 billion gallons) of water from Lake Mead and send it to the Colorado River delta. The water represents about 1/3 of the water Mexico has stored in Lake Mead since 2010. As part of a larger program to evaluate the ecological health of the delta region, the pilot project will simulate historic flooding in the delta and allow researchers to observe how the delta responds.

This program is one of the many initiatives that were negotiated between the United States, Mexico, CAP and other Colorado River stakeholders, including a number of environmental organizations, as part of Minute 319 to the treaty governing water management between the United States and Mexico. For example, CAP has partnered with other water agencies and the two governments to enhance water conservation in Mexico through partial funding of the infrastructure improvements that delivers Colorado River water to farmers in northern Sonora and Baja California.

“CAP has an important stake in wise use and management of the Colorado River,” stated CAP Colorado River Programs Manager Chuck Cullom. “We believe it is critical that CAP participate in and support interstate and binational programs that improve the reliability and sustainability of the river system and help all of us develop the programs and projects needed to address imbalance between supply and demands facing the Colorado River basin.”