ABSTRACT
The Central Arizona Project (CAP) is made up of 336 miles of aqueducts, tunnels, pipelines, and pumping stations designed to transport water from the Colorado River to southern Arizona. Proposed in the 1960s, the CAP was promoted as a means of fighting the effects of past and future drought and helping to bring an end to transborder conflicts based on unequal water distribution between the states (Arizona, California, Nevada, etc.). Drought was already a much-feared factor in the 19th century:
“When all the rivers are used, when all the creeks in the ravines, when all the brooks, when all the springs are used, when all the reservoirs along the streams are used, when all the canyon waters are taken up, when all the artesian waters are taken up, and when all the wells are sunk or dug, there is still not sufficient water to irrigate all this arid region.” (Powell, 1893).
