Roosevelt Lake rises 22 feet as wet October boosts Salt River Project water supply

A rainy October and early November filled Salt River Project reservoirs with about 120 billion gallons of water, pushing the system from 53% full to 70% full in less than a week.

SRP senior hydrologist Stephen Flora said flows on the Salt and Verde rivers were among the highest since 1993.

At their peak, the Verde River carried about 94,000 cubic feet of water per second, or roughly 703,000 gallons. Flows into Roosevelt Lake on the Salt River topped out at about 145,000 cubic feet per second, or roughly 1 million gallons.

SRP captured about 120 billion gallons of water, most of it in Roosevelt Lake, which has far more storage space than the reservoirs on the Verde. Roosevelt rose 22 feet during the runoff event.

“We were able to capture all of that … store that, put it to use for the Valley here into the future,” Flora told KTAR News 92.3 FM.

Bartlett expansion project aims to increase reservoir capacity

But the runoff was more than the system could capture, a challenge the proposed Bartlett Dam reservoir expansion project aims to address.

The project would double the Verde system’s storage capacity.

“On the Verde system we have much smaller reservoirs, we were able to store that. And once those reservoirs start to fill, those performed as they were designed to perform and pass that water safely downstream,” Flora said.

The expansion project remains in the feasibility and environmental review stage.

SRP said design and construction could take 10 to 15 years if Congress approves the project, which could cost up to about $3.7 billion.

“A larger Bartlett Dam, if that were in place it likely may have captured all of that runoff. … And we would have been able to capture that and put it to use,” Flora said.

Dam releases increased flows on the Verde and Salt rivers, and much of that water is helping recharge the aquifer.

Rain eased short-term drought, not long-term

Flora said SRP relies on wet years like this one to replenish its reservoirs.

“Especially for this time of year in October, that is a substantial amount of increase of water that we may see in a very good winter. And we’re seeing that now in early November,” Flora said.

Flora cautioned that long-term drought conditions remain despite the wet October.

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