Desert Water Solutions history

By March 1868, farmers under the Swilling Irrigation and Canal Company had harvested their first crops on land near the present-day Arizona State Hospital.

Construction of the Tempe Canal was undertaken by the Tempe Irrigating Canal Company, which had originally been incorporated in 1870 as the Hardy Irrigating Canal Company, though the name was changed the following year.

Hayden began building the mill in 1872.

The canal was the work of the Arizona Canal Company, which was formed in December 1882.

A stronger Arizona Dam was rebuilt by December 1886.

Started in 1891, the canal was masterminded by Doctor A.J. Chandler and his Consolidated Canal Company.

Due to solid water rights, Tempe Canal landowners did not join the Association when it was formed in 1903.

The federal government purchased the Grand Canal for $25,731 in June 1906, and it became part of SRP. At that time, the canal served about 17,000 acres.

The government assumed operations of the Arizona Canal in May of 1907.

It was sold to the government in November 1908 for $187,000.

Built by the federal government in 1909, the Eastern Canal replaced the old Highland Canal, which was one-quarter mile to the west.

In 1912, these farmers formed the Highline Canal Construction Company and sold stock.

In 1917, operation of the canal system was turned over to the Salt River Valley Water Users' Association, which still operates the canals for the federal government today.

The Tempe Canal Company finally joined the Association in 1923, but not because of a shortage of water.

The Grand Canal provided a better route for service of central Phoenix than the Salt River Valley Canal, which led to the abandonment of the Salt River Valley Canal in 1925.

The canal banks were opened for recreational activities in 1964.

The New Crosscut Canal’s bank is where the Valley’s first concrete canal-side bicycle path was built in 1975.

Local agencies formed the Southern Nevada Water Authority in 1991 to address Southern Nevada's unique water needs on a regional basis.

To develop recommendations on future water resources and funding for new regional facilities, the SNWA formed the Integrated Resource Planning Advisory Committee in 1994.

The Southern Nevada Water Authority launched a public works program in 1995 to ensure that water delivery keeps pace with unprecedented growth in the Las Vegas Valley.

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The Water Authority developed the groundwater management program in 1997 to protect and manage the Las Vegas Valley's primary groundwater supply.

The Water Authority, along with other local agencies, launched restoration efforts in 1998 as part of the Las Vegas Wash Coordination Committee's management plan to restore this fragile area.

In 1999, the Water Authority implemented its Water Smart Landscapes rebate to encourage residential and commercial property owners to remove grass and replace it with water-efficient landscaping.

The River Mountains Water Treatment Facility opened in October 2002.

Ozonation became the primary method of water treatment for Southern Nevada when the ozonation process went online at the valley's water treatment facilities in 2003.

In May 2004, this 570-megawatt electric power generation facility in Apex, Nevada, began operations, providing a reliable power source for the Water Authority’s water treatment facilities and pumping stations.

In 2007, the Southern Nevada Water Authority completed the Water Quality Laboratory and Applied Research & Development Center which houses one of the most sophisticated municipal water quality laboratory complexes in the world.

In 2009, the plan was incorporated as a new chapter in the SNWA Water Resource Plan.

In February 2010, the Southern Nevada Water Authority Board approved retirement of the Capital Improvements Plan 14 years after it was first issued and achieved the goals for which it was established.

In 2012, a 21-member committee was formed to guide future water resource planning for Southern Nevada.

In May 2013, the Bureau of Land Management issued rights-of-way for the primary water and power conveyance facilities of the SNWA's Groundwater Development Project.

The Southern Nevada Water Authority's board of directors approved the construction agreement of a low lake level pumping station at Lake Mead in May 2015.

In August 2017, Minute 323 was signed, defining Colorado River water deliveries to Mexico under high- and low-reservoir conditions and permitting storage of Mexico's deferred Colorado River water deliveries in Lake Mead.