2024 Skyline Award
Terry Goddard
President
Central Arizona Project
Since its creation by the US Congress in 1968 the Central Arizona Project has allowed the economy of Arizona to bloom. Through the CAP, for over fifty years the state has repaid construction costs to the US Department of the Interior (Bureau of Reclamation) and effectively managed this critical infrastructure through the Department of Interior and seven Basin States’ program of Intentionally Created Surplus. The Skyline Award recognizes the joint efforts of the US Government, State of Arizona, and the dedication of CAP managers cooperating with cities, towns, tribal entities and irrigation districts making this singular project an economic lifeline in the arid Southwest.
This award recognizes a project or policy identified by the host Land Economics Gathering Chapter and vetted by the International Awards Committee. The Skyline Award is normally made to a project or policy and is usually presented to an agency, firm or institution.
Terry Goddard was elected to his second full term on the CAWCD Board of Directors in 2018, representing Maricopa County. Mr. Goddard previously served as a member of the CAWCD Board from 2001 through 2002. He is currently serving as Board President, and previously served one term as Board Vice President.
Mr. Goddard is an attorney with Goddard Law Office PLC. He served as Mayor of Phoenix from 1984-1990 and was the Arizona Attorney General from 2003-2011. Mr. Goddard earned a BA from Harvard and a law degree from Arizona State University College of Law.
The Central Arizona Project (CAP) delivers water to over 80% of Arizonans, or nearly six million people in Maricopa, Pinal and Pima counties. The system consists of 336 miles of aqueducts, tunnels, pumping stations and pipelines that bring Colorado River water to the desert. Arizona receives 2.8-million-acre feet of water annually.
In 1968, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Colorado River Basin Project Act, which authorized construction of CAP by the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Reclamation. The system would provide a way for 1.5 MAF of Arizona’s allotment to be delivered to the most populous areas of the state and reduce the use of groundwater for agriculture and other activities. In 1971, the Central Arizona Water Conservation District (CAWCD) was created to provide Arizona a means to repay the federal government for the reimbursable costs of construction and to manage and operate the physical system. CAWCD, commonly referred to as CAP, continues today to strive toward the CAP vision.
CAP has been instrumental in the growth of Arizona; the state would be a small fraction of what it is today without the precious resource of water. CAP is dedicated to maintaining a steady supply of water, and developed a system known as Intentionally Created Surplus or ICS, the idea is to use less water in one year and have access to that water in the future.
CAP actively manages its resources and develops scenario-based strategies to ensure the consistent delivery of water that has enabled Arizona to maintain its steady population growth rate without the risk of water shortages.
To learn more about the Central Arizona Project, visit https://www.cap-az.com
Congratulations and our heartfelt thanks to all the award recipients for their irreplicable work in land economics, land and resource use, education, and management.
