This page features photos of the Central Arizona Project (CAP) canal, a cornerstone of Arizona’s water supply.
Created in 1968 by the Colorado River Basin Project Act, the CAP is a 336-mile canal that delivers water from the Colorado River to central and southern Arizona. Approval of CAP came after decades of litigation and political conflict between Arizona and California. CAP finally began construction in 1973.
At any moment, the CAP system contains about 456 billion gallons of water, over eight billion gallons of which is lost to evaporation and ground-seepage before reaching its destination. CAP water irrigates nearly one million acres of crops and supplies the Phoenix and Tucson metropolitan areas.
Learn More:
- Central Arizona Project
- Colorado River Basin Project Act
- U.S. Department of the Interior: “Managing Water in the West: The Law of the River”
| Date | 2018-2021 |
| Location | Central Arizona Project, Arizona (map) |
| Credit | Ted Wood/The Water Desk |
| Rights | Free to reuse under Creative Commons license. |
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