The economics of agriculture in the Maricopa-Stanfield Irrigation and Drainage District in Central Arizona

The economic performance of a Central Arizona Project irrigation district is determined by the economic condition of the growers the district serves and the underlying financial structure of the district. In the case of the Maricopa-Stanfield Irrigation and Drainage District, adverse economic conditions in the agricultural sector and a high debt obligation relative to water sales called into question the financial sustainability of the district. District management took positive steps, like the Management Improvement Program (MIP) and department restructuring, to improve the economic performance of the water delivery system. These actions relied on the shared understanding of the water interdependencies between agricultural and urban users which was obtained through the Diagnostic Analysis of the MIP.