Arizona
Creating ‘water leaders’: CAP to open a new water education center in north Phoenix
CAWCD candidates explain what’s at stake in Colorado River fight
Central Arizona Water Conservation District candidates explain the fight over the Colorado River during an Oct. 8, 2024, Arizona Republic forum.
The Republic
Arizonans will have a new opportunity to learn about their most precious resource, potentially as soon as next year.
The board of the Central Arizona Project approved a contract Jan. 9 to build a new water education center in north Phoenix. With a multipurpose space, board room and informative exhibits, the center will open the CAP, one of Arizona’s most essential pieces of public infrastructure, to the public.
The 336-mile Central Arizona Project Canal delivers water from the Colorado River on Arizona’s western border to the Phoenix and Tucson areas. The project provides water to 6 million Arizonans — roughly 80% of the state’s population — and accounts for nearly 40% of the water used in Phoenix.
The new center will be built on a bridge over the canal, allowing visitors to appreciate the Colorado River water flowing into their communities and homes.
“Educating kids on the history of how we got where we are today is incredibly important, and this is our opportunity to do it here in Arizona,” said CAP board member Mark Taylor.
The center will include explanatory exhibits about Arizona’s water sources and the CAP’s history.
The project is expected to cost $38-45 million, which will come from the CAP’s tax-fed Extraordinary Cost Reserve Fund. The fund, with a current balance of $342 million, is designed for one-time large expenses.
‘We’re using taxpayer money’
The CAP is managed under a public entity funded through property taxes and water fees. The project is governed by an elected board with members from Maricopa, Pinal and Pima counties. Board members said during their meeting that they supported efforts to cut costs on the project.
“This is a beautiful design and beautiful building, and for a number of reasons, I believe it’s necessary,” CAP board member April Pinger-Tornquist said during the meeting. “Please, every step of the way, sharpen your pencils, keep in mind we’re using taxpayer money.”
Staff have selected and pre-ordered construction materials to minimize cots, according to CAP operations director Darrin Francom.
Construction is scheduled to begin in May, and planners hope to open the center by the end of 2026. The CAP has selected national contractor Mortenson Company for the build.
The center will end almost a decade of difficulty in providing public education opportunities around the CAP, according to Bridget Schwartz-Manock, CAP’s assistant general manager for public and governmental affairs. Project officials used to provide guided tours of the control room, where operators control infrastructure across the entire project, but staff ended those tours for security reasons in 2017.
“It is the epicenter of how we operate this amazing system,” Schwartz-Manock said in an interview. “And we were bringing in Boy Scout groups and Rotary Clubs, and, you probably shouldn’t for cyber security reasons, people taking pictures of what software we use, accidentally touching buttons they shouldn’t touch, and all sorts of other security issues.”
Since then, Schwartz-Manock has had few ways to give the public hands-on experiences that help them understand their water infrastructure.
“There isn’t much,” Schwartz-Manock said.
Center will offer multiple educational points
The CAP has also continued holding public board meetings at its headquarters near Pinnacle Peak Rd and North 7th Street, causing additional security concerns. The new center will sit next to the headquarters in a separate space, allowing the public to attend board meetings and learn about their water infrastructure outside of sensitive spaces.
The building’s design, created by Tempe-based architecture firm Jones Studio, centers on the bridge over the canal.
“Spanning the canal and allowing everybody to stand above the water and really connect with it and actually feel the microclimate that’s that’s going to occur over top of the water … that’s the beating heart of the facility, connecting people with that water,” the project’s lead designer, Brian Farling, said in an interview. Farling is a principal at Jones Studio.
Guests will enter the building through a replica of a siphon, one of the massive subterranean pipes that CAP water passes through at several points in its journey through the project. On the other side of the siphon, guests will reach the board room, multipurpose room and conference room. Then, they will step out over the canal itself.
On the other side of the bridge, the educational center will include a small theater, a life-sized replica of a check gate, and a huge metal screen used to control water as it passes through the CAP system. The exhibit space is designed largely with school field trips in mind.
“We need to inspire the next generation of water professionals and water leaders,” said CAP board member Karen Cesare during the board meeting. “Kids today, who get their information from screens, need real hands-on places to go and see the real life-sized scale of things.”
For all visitors, Farling said he hopes the building reinforces the importance of water and responsible resource use in the desert. Before they reach the entrance, guests will walk past a tiered garden fed by collected rainwater from the building’s roof.
Staff hope the multipurpose space and boardroom will also provide meeting areas for Arizona’s water management community.
“We are really exploring future partnerships with other water organizations,” Schwartz-Manock said. “We hope it becomes a gathering space where all sorts of people can come and learn and discuss water.”
Austin Corona covers environmental issues for The Arizona Republic and azcentral. Send tips or questions to austin.corona@arizonarepublic.com
Environmental coverage on azcentral.com and in The Arizona Republic is supported by a grant from the Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust.
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San Diego State has put itself into an unenviable and unusual position. The Aztecs are going to have to win the Mountain West Conference to get a spot in the NCAA Tournament because their non-conference resume is nowhere near as impressive as it usually is.
SDSU lost 68-45 to the top-ranked Arizona Wildcats on Saturday night on a “neutral” floor in Phoenix, AZ. It was the lowest point total for the Cats this season. But, as has been their Achilles heel for years now, SDSU’s usual stellar defense doesn’t matter much when they can’t score the basketball.
They looked great for the first 18 minutes. Tae Simmons made a layup to give the Aztecs a 27-20 lead and the Aztecs were in control of the #1 team in the country. The Aztecs made just three of their next 21 field goal attempts, allowing the Wildcats to methodically take control.
Arizona finished the half on an 8-0 run and made things infinitely worse after the break, outscoring the Aztecs 40-18 over the final 20 minutes. For the game SDSU shot just 7% (1-for-14) from 3-point range but it wasn’t so much the errant shots that led to the blowout. The Aztecs held AZ to 38% from the field and 24% from 3-point land.
The problem was on the backboards. The Wildcats outrebounded the Aztecs 52-28, collecting a whopping 20 offensive rebounds and keeping San Diego State from getting any runout buckets that might get their offense going.
Add to this setback a 40-point loss to 2nd-ranked Michigan (which in reality doesn’t look all that bad since the Wolverines also beat Gonzaga by 40 and Auburn by 50) and an ugly home loss to Troy and SDSU is just 6-4 on the young season. They have one more non-conference game at home against Whittier on Monday afternoon before diving fully into Mountain West play with a trip to San Jose State on December 30.
TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) — Kenny Dillingham insisted he had no interest in leaving Arizona State. All he wanted was for his program and assistant coaches to get the resources they needed to be successful.
Dillingham got his wish on Saturday, signing a five-year contract extension that will raise his salary to an average of $7.5 million per year and increase the salary pool for his assistants to $11 million — one of the highest in the Big 12.
“The support of this season has stepped up a ton. Our university stepped up,” Dillingham told reporters following Saturday’s practice. “What I was fighting for was that long-term commitment to our staff, to our program, to the commitment to try be competitive in this crazy world (of college football).”
Dillingham had been reportedly in the mix for numerous high-profile jobs, insisting after a win against West Virginia on Nov. 15 that he wasn’t going anywhere. The 35-year-old coach’s name popped up again when Michigan fired Sherrone Moore last week and Dillingham was honest about using the top job at Michigan to push Arizona State to support the football program even more.
“This was always the goal; secure generational leadership right here at ASU,” Arizona State athletic director Graham Rossini said in a statement. “We have the right coach and want him to have the tools to do his job in a way that keeps building excitement, connection and winning at ASU. Not only is the Valley activated, but the Sun Devils are about to ignite!”
Dillingham has certainly revitalized Arizona State’s program and its fan base.
The former Oregon offensive coordinator and Arizona State alum became the youngest coach in the FBS when he was hired at 32 and, after an injury-plagued first season, led the Sun Devils to the Big 12 championship — their first conference title since 1996. Arizona State went on to reach the College Football Playoff for the first time, earning Dillingham a five-year contract extension that bumped his salary to $5.8 million the first year of the contract.
Injuries hit Arizona State hard this season — notably quarterback Sam Leavitt and All-American Jordyn Tyson — but Dillingham still had his team in contention for a return trip to the Big 12 title game until late in the season.
The Sun Devils sold out every home game this season and finished the regular season 8-4, earning a spot in the Dec. 31 Sun Bowl against Duke.
Now Dillingham and his program have more resources to keep the momentum going.
“Our staff wins. I’ve said this over and over,” Dillingham said. “Them and our players are what have got us to this point. They’re a vital piece and I think they deserve to be taken care of.”
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PHOENIX (AZFamily) — Former Arizona Cardinals kicker Jay Feely has switched his congressional campaign from the East Valley to Arizona’s 1st Congressional District, joining a crowded Republican primary in Scottsdale.
The move comes after President Donald Trump endorsed former Pinal County Sheriff Mark Lamb in the Fifth Congressional District last month, sending Feely a message to run in a different district.
“After nearly a quarter century in professional football, I know that no player is more important than the well-being of the team,” Feely said in a statement released Friday. “In this moment, the best way I can serve our GOP team is to defend this crucial Republican seat.”
Feely joins businessman John Trobough, state lawmaker Joseph Chaplik and current Arizona Republican Party leader Gina Swoboda in the GOP primary. Swoboda has already secured Trump’s endorsement.
Political experts believe Feely’s move, following Trump’s advice, could lead to another situation where Trump endorses two candidates in the same race.
The First Congressional District seat opened when Congressman David Schweikert announced his run for governor. Republicans view the district as a must-win seat.
The winner of the Republican primary will face the winner of the Democratic primary in the general election. The district is one of two swing districts in Arizona that could determine which party controls the House.
Trump has previously endorsed multiple candidates in Arizona Republican primaries, including Rep. Andy Biggs and businesswoman Karrin Taylor Robson in the governor’s race.
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