Flexible decision-making for water storage under climate change

Salt River Project

The final day of the tour took us to the Salt River Project (SRP) in Phoenix, where we visited the Arizona Falls hydro plant. The SRP was one of the first five federal reclamation projects in the United States. The Government built the Roosevelt Dam to provide water to the Project, with the farmers who received the water putting up their properties as collateral security.

Today, the Project consists of seven canals, covering 131 miles, as well as 1,100 miles of lateral pipes and ditches. Like the Roosevelt District, the SRP has seen increasing urbanisation within its command area, commencing in the 1960s.

Arizona Falls had long been an important recreation spot for the local community, and the first power plant was constructed in the 1800s. When the plant was rebuilt in 2003, the Project formed a collaboration with the Arcadia municipality authority, as well as the Phoenix Arts Commission to create a functional hydro station that also incorporated artistic and educational elements and provided recreational and aesthetic benefits to the community.

The site includes education boards for the public to learn about the history of the project, the history of the site, and the way water is managed in the area. The artistic elements include a recreation of the “natural” Arizona Falls site, poetry within the walking areas, and imprints within the concrete of indigenous reeds growing in the area.

Today, the SRP maintains the generation assets, whilst the landscaping, lighting and public facilities are maintained by the City. The physical land on which the station sits is owned by the Bureau of Reclamation.

The large pathways on either side of the canal provide for cyclists, walkers, and runners to engage directly with irrigation infrastructure within the city. Up to 80 miles of canals are being utilised within Phoenix for this purpose, and they will eventually all be connected as one trail circuit.

Within the city of Scottsdale, in the wider Phoenix area, the SRP has also collaborated with the City to create an incredible public space and live public arts experience where the Arizona Canal passes through Old Scottsdale Town.

The Canal Convergence event, which began as a way of getting the public interested in the cleaning of the canal, has grown into a major tourism event, with the 2019 event attracting 300,000 attendees. International artists create spectacular, large waterbased artworks, which integrate the water with lighting and are displayed on the canal, which is crossed by three bridges in the compact area of downtown. Arizona Falls hydro plant.

At Arizona Falls – translates to “water is the blood of the earth”.

The canal shores have been landscaped and integrated with the traditional architecture to create a space that people are attracted to and want to spend time in – all thanks to irrigation infrastructure. Artists are now lining up to participate in the annual Canal Convergence event, and companies are clamouring to sponsor the event, which has put Scottsdale (in the middle of winter) firmly on the tourism map.