City Council Policy Session - 2026-04-28
Meeting Intelligence Preview
Meeting Summary
Phoenix City Council unanimously authorized staff to negotiate mutual aid and transactional agreements for the Secure Water Arizona Program (SWAP), a collaborative framework co-developed with Tucson to address Colorado River water shortages. The council received a comprehensive briefing on water supply challenges, with staff projecting the city can sustain 75% Colorado River cuts over 10 years using backup supplies, but would need mandatory conservation measures and additional infrastructure investments for deeper cuts.
Key Decisions (1)
Secure Water Arizona Program (SWAP) Authorization
Council authorized staff to negotiate mutual aid agreements and transactional agreements to establish the Secure Water Arizona Program, a voluntary partnership co-developed with Tucson that facilitates water sharing through emergency reserves, reduction offset programs, and water sharing sandbox experiments. Vote was 8-0.
Development Activity (5)
Phoenix Scholar House
56-unit affordable housing complex for parents pursuing higher education, recently completed with ribbon cutting ceremony
Pure Water Phoenix - Cave Creek Facility
Advanced water purification facility, approximately 50% complete construction
Pure Water Phoenix - North Gateway Facility
Advanced water purification facility awarded $179 million Bureau of Reclamation grant, design phase beginning soon
Bartlett Dam Replacement
Dam replacement to capture additional floodwaters, will drastically increase water storage capacity behind Bartlett Dam
Drought Pipeline Project
$300 million pipeline project allowing water movement within the system, construction completed
Market Signals (5)
Infrastructure
Phoenix has invested $300 million in drought pipeline infrastructure and is constructing 30 groundwater wells (20 operational, 10 more expected within 3 years) to ensure water system resilience.
Housing Demand
Despite significant population growth since 1990, Phoenix water demand has remained flat due to conservation, with per capita use declining from 135 gallons/day to under 95 gallons/day.
Commercial Demand
Advanced manufacturing, semiconductor chip manufacturing, aerospace and defense are identified as top industries in Phoenix, with TSMC noted as the largest economic development project in the nation using 100% Colorado River water.
Sentiment
Council expressed concern that Bureau of Reclamation's draft environmental impact statement left out 99.6% of Arizona's economy in analyzing potential impacts of Colorado River cuts.
Infrastructure
Pure Water Phoenix program will provide over 50,000 acre feet of renewable water supply annually (approximately 25% of current Colorado River allocation) when three facilities are completed within 10 years.