The Phoenix City Council on Wednesday gave unanimous approval to a new regional water-sharing initiative designed to help Arizona communities weather tightening supplies from the Colorado River. Officials said the program, developed in partnership with Tucson and officially named the Secure Water Arizona Program, or SWAP, will be voluntary and aim to provide both short-term relief and longer-term tools for cities facing reduced river allocations. City water officials said they want to have initial portions of the program operating by Jan. 1, 2027.
A canal running past Phoenix-area suburbs; Phoenix leaders approved a water-share program intended to help Arizona weather shortages on the Colorado River.
Mayor Kate Gallego described SWAP as “a practical program that will allow our state the flexibility to weather the uncertainties in the Colorado River Basin, and it reflects our commitment to one another.” The plan, announced in more detail earlier this year, is intended to give municipalities a set of options to keep water flowing for residents and businesses while the state and water managers navigate anticipated cutbacks and continued drought pressures.
City officials framed the program around a handful of specific elements that respond to different timelines and needs. The first component, an emergency reserve, is meant to be a modest pool of water that participating cities can draw on for a brief, critical period. Max Wilson, Phoenix’s water resources management advisor, told fellow valley water officials in June that the reserve is deliberately small and designed to be tapped on a very short-term basis — to create “runway” for a city to put longer-term arrangements in place rather than to become a long-term backstop.
Wilson warned against creating a safety net so large that it would dampen other actions to secure supplies. “The goal of the emergency reserve is to create some runway for us to solve problems if we run into them, not to create a moral hazard,” he said, noting that if cities expected to rely on a robust shared system indefinitely, they might be less inclined to secure their own supplies.
Beyond the emergency reserve, SWAP includes provisions intended to address longer-term supply shortfalls. The program’s so-called offset reduction mechanism is structured to bring cities together to identify and develop alternative sources of water and to account for reductions in river deliveries. In practice, that could look like coordinated negotiations with agricultural districts or other major water holders — for example, paying a farm district for part of its allocation — so that cities can offset the volumes they lose under river cutbacks.
A third element of the program seeks to establish a marketplace-style function to connect willing sellers and willing buyers of water. City officials emphasized that SWAP is not intended to centrally mandate transactions or to act as a broker with broad regulatory power. “The goal of this committee is to ensure that it has very limited authorities,” Wilson said, stressing the intention for transactions to occur at the user-to-user level between a willing buyer and a willing seller.
Part of the underlying motivation for SWAP is protection of the greater metropolitan area’s utilities and economy from the reputational and practical fallout of local shortages. City leaders noted that even a temporary loss of service in a smaller community could prompt national headlines and broader economic consequences for the region. That prospect has helped drive interest among larger cities in lending short-term assistance to smaller neighbors, provided those transfers are voluntary and structured to avoid long-term dependence.
Council members approved the program unanimously on Wednesday, moving forward with the framework first discussed publicly in April. Officials plan to stand up initial components of SWAP by the start of next year and to keep the program voluntary and locally driven. The collaboration with Tucson aims to create a regional layer of mutual aid for water supplies while preserving the autonomy of cities and minimizing centralized intervention in water transactions. The Secure Water Arizona Program is now part of Phoenix’s suite of preparations to confront ongoing uncertainty in Colorado River allocations and the broader challenges facing the basin.
ASU Kyl Center for Water Policy Director Sarah Porter stressed the value of regional cooperation to avoid water emergencies and unequal curtailments, where some Phoenix suburbs might face deep restrictions while others feel little impact. Recent reporting added that the Phoenix-Tucson led program will also test next-generation conservation projects and function as a "big tent" open to companies and other municipalities.
Phoenix currently draws about 40% of its water from the Colorado River via the Central Arizona Project, with the Salt and Verde rivers supplying the bulk of the remainder.
The City Council approved Phoenix’s participation in SWAP on a 9-0 vote.
Council also authorized city staff to negotiate and execute mutual-aid and transactional agreements under the SWAP framework, giving Phoenix Water Services the authority to begin formal talks with potential partners.
City materials note Phoenix is operating in Stage 1 of its drought plan — emphasizing public awareness, conservation and water-waste enforcement — as staff develop and roll out initial SWAP components.