The GSP represents the dollar values of all goods and services produced in the region and are a measurement of the economic output of a state, a counterpart to the gross domestic product for the nation. In recent years, the existence of CAP has generated an economic benefit approaching $100 billion per year, accounting for at least one-third, and sometimes more, of the entire Arizona gross state product.
According to the report, Arizona would be entirely different if CAP’s 336-mile-long canal system was never constructed, commencing almost 40 years ago. By delivering at least 1.5 million acre-feet (almost 500 billion gallons) of Colorado River water every year, CAP has dramatically changed the economic and environmental landscape of Arizona.
In order to calculate the economic impacts of CAP water deliveries, the researchers prepared a baseline scenario of Arizona’s annual economy as it has evolved with CAP water deliveries. A ‘no-CAP’ scenario was produced for the same time period with water supplies reduced by the amount delivered each year by CAP. The differences between the scenarios represent the annual and cumulative impacts of CAP water deliveries on Arizona GSP and employment.
Other key findings from the study include:
• CAP’s supply of water to municipal industrial and agricultural customers in 2010 is estimated to have generated annual employment of more than 1.6 million jobs.
• Government, Healthcare, Retail, Real Estate and Travel sectors would have lost more than 60 percent of these jobs had the CAP water supply been unavailable.
• If the recreational benefits and other impacts associated with the operation and maintenance of the aqueduct system and Lake Pleasant are added to the water supply analysis, statewide economic impacts of the operation of CAP would be even greater.
CAP is governed by the Central Arizona Water Conservation District (CAWCD), a 15-member, publicly-elected Board of Directors from Maricopa, Pima and Pinal counties. According to Board President Pamela Pickard, “The study was commissioned as part of a greater effort to understand and quantify the impact of CAP and its Colorado River water supplies on central and southern Arizona.”