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The Central Arizona Project Aqueduct (CAP) is a 336 mi (541 km) diversion canal in Arizona in the United States. The aqueduct diverts water from the Colorado River from Lake Havasu City near Parker into central and southern Arizona. The CAP is the largest and most expensive aqueduct system ever constructed in the United States. CAP is managed and operated by the Central Arizona Water Conservation District (CAWCD).

Mark Wilmer Pumping Plant

The CAP is a multipurpose water resource development and management project that delivers Colorado River water, either directly or by exchange, into central and southern Arizona. The project was designed to provide water to nearly one million acres (4,000 km²) of Indian and non-Indian irrigated agricultural land areas in Maricopa, Pinal and Pima Counties, as well as municipal water for several Arizona communities, including the metropolitan areas of Phoenix and Tucson. Authorization also was included for development of facilities to deliver water to Catron, Hidalgo, and Grant Counties in New Mexico, but these facilities have not been constructed because of cost considerations, a lack of demand for the water, lack of repayment capability by the users, and environmental constraints. In addition to its water supply benefits, the project also provides substantial benefits from power generation, flood control, outdoor recreation, fish and wildlife conservation, and sediment control. The project was subdivided, for administration and construction purposes, into the Granite Reef, Orme, Salt-Gila, Gila River, Tucson, Indian Distribution, and Colorado River divisions. During project construction, the Orme Division was re-formulated and renamed the Regulatory Storage Division. Upon completion, the Granite Reef Division was re-named the Hayden-Rhodes Aqueduct, and the Salt-Gila Division was renamed the Fannin-McFarland Aqueduct.

Aerial photo - Central Arizona Project

The CAP was created by the Colorado River Basin Project Act of 1968. This Act provided for the Secretary of the Interior to enter into an agreement with non-Federal interests, whereby the Federal Government acquired the right to 24.3 percent of the power produced at the non-Federal Navajo Generating Station, Navajo Project. The agreement also includes the delivery of power and energy over the transmission facilities to delivery points within the Central Arizona Project service area.

Construction of the project began in 1973 with the award of a contract for the Havasu Intake Channel Dike and excavation for the Havasu Pumping Plant (now Mark Wilmer Pumping Plant) on the shores of Lake Havasu. Construction of the other project features followed. The backbone aqueduct system, which runs about 336 miles (541 km) from Lake Havasu to a terminus 14 mi (22.5 km) southwest of Tucson, was declared substantially complete in 1993. The new and modified dams constructed as part of the project were declared substantially complete in 1994. All of the non-Indian agricultural water distribution systems were completed in the late 1980s, as were most of the municipal water delivery systems. Several Indian distribution systems remain to be built; it is estimated that full development of these systems could require another 10 to 20 years.

The final extension to Tucson required a borehole through the mountains.

• Aqueduct
• List of canals in the United States

• CAP: Central Arizona Project
• Alternate photo of the canal

v • d • e Colorado River system
Dams and aqueducts (see US Bureau of Reclamation)	Shadow Mountain Dam • Granby Dam • Glen Canyon Dam • Hoover Dam • Davis Dam • Parker Dam • Palo Verde Diversion Dam • Imperial Dam • Laguna Dam • Morelos Dam • Colorado River Aqueduct • San Diego Aqueduct • Central Arizona Project Aqueduct • All-American Canal • Coachella Canal • Redwall Dam
Natural features	Colorado River • Rocky Mountains • Colorado River Basin • Grand Lake • Sonoran Desert • Mojave Desert • Imperial Valley • Colorado Plateau • Black Canyon • Glen Canyon • Glenwood Canyon • Gore Canyon • Grand Canyon • Marble Canyon • New River • Paria Canyon • Ruby Canyon • Westwater Canyon • Gulf of California/Sea of Cortez • Salton Sea
Tributaries	Blue River• Dirty Devil River • Dolores River • Escalante River • Eagle River • Fraser River • Gila River • Green River • Gunnison River • Kanab Creek • Little Colorado River • Paria River • Roaring Fork River • San Juan River • Virgin River• Williams Fork River
Major reservoirs	Fontenelle Reservoir • Flaming Gorge Reservoir • Taylor Park Reservoir • Navajo Reservoir • Lake Powell • Lake Mead • Lake Mohave • Lake Havasu
Dependent states	Arizona • California • Colorado • Nevada • New Mexico • Utah • Wyoming (See: Colorado River Compact)
Designated areas	Arches National Park • Canyonlands National Park • Colorado National Monument • Dead Horse Point State Park • Glen Canyon National Recreation Area • Grand Canyon National Park • Lake Mead National Recreation Area• Rocky Mountain National Park