Report: Gila River Diversion Could Cost $1.1 Billion

SANTA FE, N.M. - The controversial proposal to divert areas of the Gila River could cost an estimated $1.1 billion, according to a report prepared by the former head of New Mexico's Interstate Stream Commission. Norman Gaume says the Bureau of Reclamation's cost estimates for the project are accurate, but are broken down into segments and don't reflect an overall price tag. "I went to literally half a dozen different pages throughout this 400-page report to extract the costs and then put them on a single sheet of paper, to let people know we're talking about a $1 billion project," Gaume says. The proposed diversion is linked to the "Arizona Water Settlements Act of 2004," which granted Gila River water to tribes in Arizona. Gaume says the nine-member Interstate Stream Commission, which is appointed by the governor, has the choice to approve the diversion or other less-expensive options that don't include diverting the river...more