Despite more than two years of intense negotiations, the Veterans Day deadline to agree on the allotment of reduced water supplies under the Colorado River Compact passed without a consensus. If the seven states divided into the upper and lower basins of the river cannot put forward a joint proposal by February 14, the federal government will institute its own plan—which will likely result in appeals to the Supreme Court.  

Since the first federal shortage declaration in 2021, Arizona has volunteered to accept the largest cuts in shares of Colorado River water. Given that a third of its overall water demand has relied on the river’s supply, leaders in the state are anxious to conclude the current negotiations so that their long-term planning for alternatives can proceed.  

The Central Arizona Project (CAP) is a 330-mile manmade canal built to transport Arizona’s portion of Colorado River water across the state. Approved for federal funding by President Lyndon Johnson in 1968, CAP is an outstanding example of the infrastructural might that has often been required for cities in the Ten Across region to thrive. The urban boom that began in Phoenix and Tucson in the 1980s and 90s would not have been possible without CAP water.  

In this episode Duke Reiter and Terry Goddard, CAP Board president and former Phoenix mayor, discuss how the state has weathered uncertainties surrounding growth and water security in the past, and how leaders need to step up to meet the present moment...and the future.  

Relevant Articles and Resources  

“Former Phoenix mayor: Embrace bad news” (AZ Central, April 2015)  

“40 Years of Central Arizona Project Water Use” (Kyl Center for Water Policy, December 2025)  

“’Dream’ of desalinating water to boost Arizona’s supplies moves ahead with vote” (AZ Central, November 2025)  

“The Peirce Report, Revisited: Greater Phoenix Grows Up” (Greater Phoenix Leadership)  

1987 interview with Neal Peirce on PBS Horizon  

Relevant Ten Across Conversations Podcasts  

Latest Deadpool Projections Inject New Urgency into Colorado River Negotiations  

Understanding Groundwater Risks in the Southwest with Jay Famiglietti  

Checking in on Tense Colorado River Negotiations with Anne Castle and John Fleck  

Credits
Host: Duke Reiter
Producer and editor: Taylor Griffith
Music by: Gavin Luke and Pearce Roswell
Research and support provided by: Kate Carefoot, Rae Ulrich, and Sabine Butler  

About our guest 
Terry Goddard served as Arizona attorney general from 2003 to 2010, addressing major issues, including the fallout from the mortgage crisis, border security, and consumer and environmental protections. While mayor of Phoenix from 1984 to 1990, Terry conceived and presided over the Phoenix Futures Forum, the largest city visioning process in the U.S., measured by the number of citizen participants and scope. He was also elected president of the National League of Cities in 1988. Today, Terry is serving his third term as president of the Central Arizona Water Conservation District Board, which oversees the Central Arizona Project.