Central Arizona Project

The Central Arizona Project (CAP) supplies approximately 1.5 million acre-feet of Colorado River water per year to businesses and residents in Pima, Pinal and Maricopa counties.  A 336-mile aqueduct with 14 pumping plants, 1 hydroelectric pump, 8 inverted siphons, 39 radial gate structures, over 50 turnouts, and 3 tunnels, the entire system is operated 24/7 from a control center in north Phoenix.  As the largest single resource of renewable water supplies in the State of Arizona, CAP carries water from Lake Havasu to the southern boundary of the San Xavier Indian Reservation.

In 2013 the Seidman Research Institute was commissioned by CAP to estimate their economic impact for the State of Arizona.  The primary objective of this request was to not only quantify the direct, indirect and induced effects of the construction of CAP, but to also estimate the economic impact of CAP’s water deliveries to the economic development of the State of Arizona, 1986-2010.

Project File:

The Economic Impact of The Central Arizona Project to the State of Arizona (April 2014)