Phoenix pours $280 million into pipeline to prepare for less water from parched Colorado River

The Colorado River is drying up — and it’s fair to say Phoenix, Arizona, would be drastically different without it.

To reach residents in the city, water goes through a 190-mile journey through a system of canals. But decades of drought, low snowpack in the mountains and overuse have put tremendous pressure on the reservoirs that supply water to 40 million people in the Southwest.

On Jan. 1, for the first time, Arizona’s supply of the Colorado River water will be cut by 18%. Farmers will bear the brunt at first, and if the drought continues, the cuts will go much deeper and eventually hit cities like Phoenix. That’s one reason behind why the city just broke ground on a $280-million initiative to address the issue.