Arizona’s water stewardship efforts received a major boost on Tuesday with an announcement by two water groups that they have achieved a $38 million funding goal to conserve 150,000 acre-feet of water (nearly 49 billion gallons) to shore up declining water levels in Lake Mead through the Colorado River Indian Tribes system conservation project. 

The announcement was made by Business for Water Stewardship and the Environmental Defense Fund and represents the single-largest multi-sector collaborative drought response effort ever completed in Arizona. 

Funding was made possible with the support of private sector businesses and foundations, including Intel Corp.; Google; Microsoft; Procter & Gamble; Reformation; Keurig Dr Pepper; Ecolab; Cascade; Cox; The Coca-Cola Foundation; Silk; Target; Brochu Walker; and Swire Coca-Cola, USA. Key Philanthropic funders included the Walton Family Foundation and Water Funder Initiative.  

“This partnership represents an important next step for Arizona’s water story: one where political leadership and the business and philanthropic communities come together to assure long-term water security for Arizona,” said Percy Kirk, Senior Vice President & Southwest Region Manager, Cox Communications. “We are proud to support the state’s efforts to plan for a sustainable future that preserves water for community, business and ecological uses.” 

The news comes as the state nears an anticipated first-ever Tier 1 federal shortage declaration, with Arizona preparing for an 18% reduction in the amount of water it receives from Lake Mead and the Colorado River. 

“How we use, manage, and value water will dictate our future,” said Todd Reeve, CEO of Bonneville Environmental Foundation and Co-Founder of Business for Water Stewardship. “Today is a major milestone made possible by collective impact. We’re redefining how businesses work collaboratively with tribes, community and policy stakeholders, philanthropy, and nonprofit partners to advance solutions that ensure that the people, economies, and ecosystems along the Colorado River have enough clean water to flourish.” 

The funding announcement is a critical step in implementing the state’s forward-looking Drought Contingency Plan, in which Arizona and the six other Colorado River Basin States agreed to proactive water conservation actions to help prevent impacts associated with declining water levels in Lake Mead and Lake Powell. Arizona will likely face immediate water reductions in 2022 with the potential for deeper cuts in 2023. 

The landmark funding partnership directly supports the Colorado River Indian Tribes and their extraordinary water conservation commitments to bolster water levels at Lake Mead. 

“The importance of the DCP cannot be overstated as drought conditions persist,” said Amelia Flores, Chairwoman of the Colorado River Indian Tribes. “CRIT is proud to play a key role in mitigating water shortfalls facing Arizona. We are able to do so by careful conservation that benefits Arizona while protecting our water rights. The partnerships and alliances that have been forged across all levels of government as well as corporate and nonprofit entities demonstrate the level of commitment needed to solve this crisis.” 

Recent collaborations among diverse corporate partners in Arizona show that businesses are leading the way with solutions and using their brands and tremendous capacity, influence and resources to pave the way for long-term water security in Arizona. 

“Today’s announcement is the latest in a long history of Intel’s commitment to Arizona,” said Elizabeth Shipley, Director of Public Affairs for Intel in Arizona. “We’re proud of our investments in water conservation and commend the organizations supporting the CRIT system conservation project. Intel is committed to continuing to support projects and programs that benefit Arizona’s community, economy, and ecosystem as part of our goal to achieve net-positive water use by 2030.” 

“Through our water positive commitment, Microsoft is focused on improving water conditions for people, nature, and society in water-stressed locations around the world,” said Paul Fleming, Microsoft Global Water Program Manager. “We’ve supported the CRIT project because of its tangible benefits to the community and because it has helped to coalesce and scale the activities of individual entities into a collective action framework. By aligning state government, tribal government, the non-profit and philanthropic communities, and the private sector, the CRIT project provides an example of how we can work together to steward a resource that sustains us all.”

Learn more at www.businessforwater.org 

The post Major corporations and foundations commit final funding for landmark water conservation deal that secures nearly 49 billion gallons of water for Lake Mead appeared first on Â鶹´«Ă˝Ół»­.

Eight major corporations have contributed more than $1.5 million to shore up Arizona’s dwindling water supplies in a conservation project with the Colorado River Indian Tribes (CRIT) in western Arizona. 

Intel Corp., Microsoft, Cox, The Coca-Cola Foundation, Procter & Gamble, Reformation, Silk, and Swire Coca-Cola, USA are providing the funding as part of the project that was developed through the Colorado River Drought Contingency Plan (DCP) negotiations in Arizona. 

The funding builds on prior commitments that now bring the total private and philanthropic funding to over $6 million, or 75 percent, of an $8 million goal to help support the DCP.

The money will help increase water supply reliability in the state that has watched the Colorado River shrink under a decades-long drought, said Todd Reeve, director of Business for Water Stewardship (BWS), who announced the transfer of the funding last week. 

“It’s remarkable to see the business community come together like this—with some of the world’s most successful companies working to ensure that Arizona’s long-term water security remains a priority, ” Reeve said. 

Tribe working to protect environment, economy 

As an original user along the river with senior priority rights, CRIT is a large holder of Colorado River supplies. The tribe has been actively involved in the DCP negotiations to find solutions to reduce future water shortages. 

With funding from the state and the corporate and nonprofit community, the tribe has agreed to conserve up to 150,000 acre-feet of its Colorado River water allocation, which will directly shore up Lake Mead, Arizona’s holding “tank” for Colorado River water.

Keith Moses, vice chairman of the CRIT, said the tribe looks forward to working with the private and public partners to “maximize the environmental and economic value of our federally reserved water rights.”

The funding also supports longer-term CRIT efforts to modernize irrigation systems and conserve water. 

“Our contribution to the DCP was just the beginning of our plan to actively manage our water rights to both provide for our people and to protect and preserve the river,” Moses said. “This is a team effort, and we know we can build upon our successes in the years to come.” 

Nonprofits match funds for water shortage prevention

This newest round of corporate funding is being matched by private philanthropic funds from the Water Funder and the Arizona Community to total over $1.5 million. 

New era of business involvement

The collective funding agreement from corporations and foundations to conserve water is the single largest collaborative effort of its kind in Arizona, Reeve said.

He said this showing of business commitment highlights a new era of water policy, where the business community “not only understands what is at stake, but also chooses to directly drive water solutions that make Arizona a great place to invest, hire, and grow.” 

About Business for Water Stewardship 

Business for Water Stewardship is a program of the Bonneville Environmental Foundation that helps businesses advance solutions to ensure that local communities, economies and ecosystems have enough clean water to flourish. BSW provides ways for businesses to actively help sustain rivers and replenish aquifers, promote forward-looking water policies, and boost their reputations as environmental stewards.

Learn more at  

The post Businesses contribute $1.5 million to shore up Arizona’s water reserves appeared first on Â鶹´«Ă˝Ół»­.