The Valley saw its most rain in months and even some snow in late January after a dry monsoon season last year. However, Arizona’s two largest water supplies were mostly unaffected by the storms and project a drier winter than average.
Salt River Project, which supplies tens of thousands of customers with water stretching from the far East Valley through Peoria, still has well-stocked reservoirs from a few wet winters in recent years. Projections for the next few years show no threat to maintaining a steady water supply.
The state’s other main water supplier, Central Arizona Project, is projected to reach an unprecedented shortage next year. CAP shares Colorado River water with six other states and Mexico, with Lake Mead and Lake Powell as the main reservoirs. Officials project water levels on Lake Mead — which supplies lower basin states of Arizona, California and Nevada with water — will drop below a threshold that would for the first time drastically reduce the amount of Colorado River water Arizona receives in 2022.
