Colorado River Water Supply

At a glance

• What: Glendale's water resources outlook given Colorado River reductions expected in 2027, SRP system status, pending agreements and drought mitigation projects.
• Where it stands: Staff gave a workshop update on October 13, 2026. No vote.
• Next: Options for advanced water purification and expanding Glendale treatment facilities are to be presented to Council.

Workshop (October 13, 2026)

• Sheldon and Richards covered Glendale's water resources, SRP system status, Colorado River watershed conditions, 2027 reductions, pending agreements, potable supplies at various CAP reduction levels, drought mitigation projects and next steps.
• On the Yuma Desalting Plant, Richards said it was mothballed in the 1990s and restarting it is under discussion.
• Advanced water purification: Glendale is working with Phoenix, EPCOR and Mesa, with no intergovernmental agreement yet committing the cities to construction costs. Sheldon said Glendale works with Phoenix on the 91st Avenue Wastewater Treatment Plant and is looking at purification and expanded Glendale treatment capacity for local control; options will come to Council.
• Wells: the City tracks wells registered with the Department of Water Resources and monitors private wells in its service area; some older wells may be unregistered and no exact count was available. Wells built under agreements (for example the VAI Resort) are not in the staff graph. Project Eagle would get domestic water from EPCOR.

Mayor's comments (August 25, 2026)

Mayor Weiers said Colorado River water is a concern across the state, but Glendale is not almost entirely dependent on it and has used water banking and turf-to-xeriscape incentives. He said Glendale is not running out of water, and asked everyone to support curtailments to protect future supply.

Sources

• City Council workshop minutes, October 13, 2026: https://destinyhosted.com/agenda_publish.cfm?id=45363&mt=all&get_month=10&get_year=2026&dsp=min&seq=6176
• City Council regular (voting) meeting minutes, August 25, 2026: https://destinyhosted.com/agenda_publish.cfm?id=45363&mt=all&get_month=8&get_year=2026&dsp=min&seq=6143

Log

2026-10-13 - City Council Workshop

Water Resources update; questions on purification, wells and Project Eagle.

2026-08-25 - City Council

Mayor Weiers spoke about the Colorado River situation during council comments.

2026-11-10 - City Council (Workshop and Voting) Meeting

Voting agenda includes R26-120 (CAWCD firming water delivery); contract text not read.