Creating ‘water leaders’: CAP to open a new water education center in north Phoenix

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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