After five long years of discussion and negotiation, the Colorado River states and the federal government agreed in May 2019 to a Drought Contingency Plan to help protect the river system from the worsening effects of drought and over-use.

Is it so wrong to want to revel in good water news a bit?

After enduring more than 19 years of lingering drought in the Southwest and its implications for the Colorado River system, we think not. 

This month, Congress has passed, and the President has signed into law, the Colorado River Drought Contingency Plan Authorization Act, which permits the Secretary of the Interior to sign a DCP agreement with the Seven Basin States. 

In the end, it was the bipartisan sense of urgency among lawmakers – the fast-building recognition on both sides of the aisle that this legislation needed the support of Congress -- that proved most stunning to observers.

Support in Congress for the Colorado River Drought Contingency Plans took a big step forward on Thursday when lawmakers on a key House subcommittee expressed bipartisan – and, in many cases, enthusiastic – support for the effort to help stabilize the drought-troubled river system.

Among those expressing strong support for the DCPs was Arizona Rep. Raul Grijalva, chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee.

As the New Year approaches, compiling a list of the top stories in the Arizona water industry is always a challenge because there’s always a lot to choose from. But 2018 truly was more eventful than other years in recent memory.

From the increased efforts of Drought Contingency Planning, to a wildfire season unlike any other, to the ongoing drought declarations within the Southwest, take a look back at some of the key moments in 2018, as they were reported by Arizona Water News.

By Arizona Department of Water Resources and Central Arizona Project

Arizona has worked over the course of several years with the other States in the Colorado River Basin and the United States to develop an interstate Drought Contingency Plan to protect Colorado River supplies. Within Arizona, stakeholders have been working to develop an Implementation Plan, a series of agreements that will govern the way that certain terms of the DCP will be implemented within Arizona once the DCP is effective.

While Arizona water managers and affected stakeholders have been meeting almost daily over the past several months to finalize the state’s Drought Contingency Plan (DCP), plans have been underway on a parallel track for several years to ensure the framework is in place for the entire Colorado River Basin DCP.