Water and Arizona History: How the Quest for Water Shaped Arizona History

What would the state of Arizona be without water? An underpopulated desert is a likely answer. The pursuit of water shaped Arizona history. It shaped Arizona political culture. Water enabled the economic development and population growth of Arizona.

Why Water?

The pursuit of water enabled a small state of ranchers, miners, and farmers to become a boomtown. After Arizona became a state in 1914, water reclamation projects fueled economic expansion across the state, and held everyone's interest. The quest for water had begun before statehood as Arizona's industries began to see the need for a more constant water supply in the arid state.

Mining companies like Phelps Dodge desired new sources of waters. Copper companies had discovered that low grade copper could be concentrated by putting the ore in a solution of water and chemicals. They also desired the electricity that could be generated by dams.

Ranchers in Maricopa used water to produce grain for cattle feeding operations. Soon farmers would make a bundle growing cotton in the arid desert. As the Arizona's needs grew, residents began to turn more to the federal government for aid in developing their plans.

Arizona's Quest for Federal Water

This quest for water shaped the makeup of the state's congressional delegation, and fostered a political culture that valued state's rights and self-determination. Following the great paradox of the American West, Arizona residents turned to East to Washington to secure water for their vision. The state's bountifulness could only be realized through the construction of man-made structures like the dam on the seal that would ensure the state a constant water supply. Water concerned all Arizonans. The first American settlers used local water sources, and an abandoned canal system to irrigate their crops. Clearing ancient Hohokam canals and digging new ones, Jack Swilling and others established the first modern irrigation system in Phoenix in 1867. Droughts, an expanding population, and the advent of hydroelectric power prompted continuous efforts to secure funds and financing for public and private reclamation projects across the state. These projects established dams, desert lakes, and canal systems across the state. The arid state blessed with abundant sunshine became fertile, attractive fertile farm land with a steady source of water.

The Roosevelt Dam finished in 1911 generated Phoenix's agricultural expansion in the 1910s. Looking at changes at the local fuel and feed company, Capitol Fuel, Feed and Seed Company, demonstrates the agribusiness expansion during the early twentieth century. In 1920, the business bought wood to sell to others from local Native Americans, sold local farmer's hay to dairymen, and shipped in fuel and coal for residential houses and businesses. By 1938, the business had a fleet of oil trucks, several retail stores, a fertilizer plant, and a seed shipping business. As agriculture boomed, service industries expanded as well to meet the needs of the growing population.

Politically, this meant that Arizona politicians spent the majority of the twentieth century securing funds and financing from the federal government for water projects beginning with Roosevelt Dam (authorized in 1903 and completed in 1911). The search for water reached its zenith with the Central Arizona Project (CAP) which channeled Arizona's share of the Colorado River to its growing urban centers (authorized in 1968). Proposed as a means to irrigate an expanding agricultural region, the canal in the end ensured water for the migrants who flocked to Arizona since World War II.

Congressional Politics and Arizona Water

The determination to acquire federal assistance shaped the congressional delegation in several ways. First, their single-minded interest resulted in a bipartisan spirit for many years. Second, the pursuit of water resulted in long tenures for Arizona's congressmen so that the small state would not lose seniority on key committees. Senator Carl Hayden is the best example. He represented Arizona in Congress from 1912 to 1969 and spent 42 of those years in the Senate. He retired only after securing his long standing dream, the Central Arizona Project.

The Great Colorado River War

On a local level, the pursuit of water deepened the state's rights sentiments of many in the predominantly Democratic state. In the 1920s and 1930s, Arizonans debated ratifying a compact with other Western states regarding water rights to the Colorado River. Ardent Democrats opposed ratification of the treaty stressing a state's right to self-determination. Their protests stemmed from anger at California's proposed portion. Other individuals resisted the compact because they had their own private development plans. Considering the Colorado River to be an Arizona resource, some Arizonans accused California of poaching water. When Congress authorized the building of California dams on the Colorado River prior to Arizona ratifying the water compact, Arizonans were disgusted. In 1934, Governor Moeur placed members of the state's National Guard on the river to protect the state's sovereignty when Californians began the construction of Parker Dam. With jest, the New York Times reported "so far no orders have been reported to fire when you 'see the whites of their eyes' and the people of both states are breathless awaiting the assault on Fort Sumter or its modern equivalent." No shots were fired, the real battle waged in the courts for years. Represented by future Secretary of State Dean Acheson, Arizona's initial legal fight against California failed. Arizonans eventually signed the compact, and then engaged in a long legal battle that lasted until 1963 to ensure their rightful share of water. In the end, the small obstinate state won.

Arizona's defense of the Colorado River and the long legal battle highlight the importance of water in the state, and how the pursuit of water contributed to the formation of a political culture that stressed state's rights and self-determination. Yet, the possibility of looming water shortages mean that the war is not over.