Central Arizona Project canal has a leak

October 04, 2012

It may be another two weeks before the break in the Central Arizona Project canal is repaired. Authorities discovered the leak early Sunday morning. The canal delivers water from the Colorado River to Phoenix and Tucson. Al Macias reports.

AL MACIAS: CAP officials say more than 160 million gallons of water flowed into the desert before workers were able to shut off the flow. Spokesman Bob Barrett says the break occurred in a remote area about 30 miles east of the Colorado River. He says this portion of the canal runs above ground level and is made up of concrete panels.

BOB BARRETT: It is literally empty. They’re taking ground penetrating radar to see if any of the other panels, if there’s a hole behind it that you can’t see.

MACIAS: The water normally flows from the Colorado River to Lake Pleasant north of the Valley and is then delivered to the Phoenix and Tucson metro areas. CAP says there is more than enough water stored in Lake Pleasant to meet the demands until repairs are completed around Oct. 18.