IPFS
Becky Fenger
More About: Property RightsWater boarding
"Whiskey's
for drinking; water's for
fighting
about." ~ Mark Twain
If you want to
win a bar bet, just ask if anyone
knows what the CAWCD is and does. As
important as water is here in the
desert, very few folks are familiar
with the Central Arizona Water
Conservation District or its Board
of Directors.
The Central
Arizona
Project
Canal
was built by the Bureau of
Reclamation. When it was completed,
it was turned over to the state of Arizona.
The CAWCD was set up about 25 to 30
years ago to run the CAP
Canal.
And what an operation it is. The
Canal is probably the best-run water
delivery system in the world. It's
also one of the longest
single-entity systems, and delivers
half of Arizona's
share of the Colorado
River water each year.
Water is pumped up 800 feet through
the Buckskin
Mountains
at Lake Havasu
near Page and then is dropped down
and gravity flow takes it to the
next of 15 pump stations along the
way. The Canal is 336 miles long and
uses a lot of electricity to pump
all that water uphill 3,000 feet.
The CAP is the largest single
electric user in the state of Arizona,
which is no small potatoes.
The water belongs to the state of Arizona.
The CAWCD does not own the water.
The district charges for delivering
the water. The 15-member Board is
also mandated to recharge the
"stored" water underground in the
event of a drought. That is all the
Board is supposed to do.
There are no private parts to the
CAWCD whatsoever, yet it is called a
quasi-governmental entity. This
designation always makes me nervous,
as it seems to be a moniker that
lends itself to needlessly spending
taxpayer money. One of the things
that puzzles me is the efforts of
the CAP Board to educate people
about the importance of conserving
water.
Don't get me wrong! I have been a
poster child for saving water and
precious top soil for more than a
few decades and wouldn't be caught
dead letting the water run while I
am brushing my teeth. But the CAP's
customers are not retail customers
except for one or two individual
farmers.
I learned that the CAP Board gives
away $50,000 a year to schools and
non-profit organizations that apply
to them for cash so they can haul
children around to water exhibits on
Water Days, and to the Maricopa
Agricultural
Center,
which is affiliated with the University
of Arizona,
just 'cause.
The CAP Board also gives away six
$1,000 scholarships each year to the
children and grandchildren of the
CAP employees. It costs taxpayers
more than the $6,000, because they
hire an outside firm to evaluate the
scholarship applications.
The Board willingly chooses to pay
for sponsorships that it should
think twice about. For instance: The
annual ASU/JP Morgan Chase Economic
Forecast Luncheon is being held at
the Phoenix
Convention
Center
on Dec. 7. The tickets are $90 a
person ($18 muffins, anyone?). CAP
has purchased a table for $900. Is
this really necessary? Correct me if
I'm wrong, but I heard that the
Board spent $38,000 on entertaining
and optional events last year.
Whenever anybody has a Fair Day of
some sort or another, deal the CAP
contribution in.
Now for the big ticket items. Not
only do CAP employees belong to the
Arizona State Retirement System,
with the CAP contributing the
employers' share to the ASRS
retirement plan, but workers also
get the benefit of a 401(k) program
if they so choose. And the CAP
contributes up to half of the
employees contribution into their
401(k)s. The lucky stiffs get to
have both!
Here's the deal with the Arizona
State Retirement System
contributions: CAP makes their
contribution, and then the employees
make a contribution. But the
employees' contribution is a check
that is cut for them. It is not
included in their base pay. They are
paid this amount and then they
immediately contribute it back to
the ASRS. So if he earns $100,000
and his contribution is $10,000 for
the ASRS that year, he isn't paying
taxes on the $110,000. This
bookkeeping trick allows CAP to
cover both ends of the contribution.
There are 476 employees, and most of
them belong to the 401(k) program.
This perk cost taxpayers over
$940,000 last year. We shouldn't be
paying for both.
If you don't mind, I think I'll take
that whiskey now.