PHOENIX — A bill sponsored by state Rep. Gail Griffin, R-Hereford, that would allocate $1 million to legal expenses related to Colorado River water has unanimously passed the House on Tuesday.
HB 2216 gives the Arizona Department of Water Resources the funds in the event legal action has to be taken to protect Arizona’s allocation of water out of the Colorado River.
The bill now moves to the Senate.
Under an agreement signed last year, Mexico will receive 1.35 million acre feet of water.
Out of the river’s upper basin, Arizona receives 50,000 acre feet of water annually; while out of the lower basin California receives the most at 4.4 million acre feet, followed by Arizona at 2.8 million acre feet and Nevada at 300,000 acre feet. Tribal nationals also receive a combined 3.2 million acre feet.
Griffin represents Legislative Dist. 19, which includes Greenlee, Graham and Cochise counties.
