On any given day a torrent of water gushes from the base of the Bartlett Dam in Central Arizona 鈥� enough to fill a backyard swimming pool within seconds.
Don McMillan oversees it all as a dam keeper for the Salt River Project, a utility that runs the dam along the Verde River and provides water to more than 2.5 million people.
鈥溾�夾 lot of people ask me what I do here. The simple answer is, my job is to make sure this big piece of concrete doesn鈥檛 go anywhere,鈥� McMillan said, referring to the entire dam. 鈥淓very day I walk through this dam, I walk through the top of the dam, I walk through the bottom of the dam, I put my eyes on the structure. I鈥檓 just looking for any changes, any variance from the day before, the week before.鈥�
Western rivers, reservoirs and dams like the Bartlett Dam provide water to tens of millions of people living in the Western United States, but climate change and overuse are putting stress on those systems.
One example is the dwindling water supply on the Colorado River. The seven states that rely on it for water to come up with a plan to share the water in times of drought. The federal government may have to step in now, forcing the states to cut back on water use.
The Bartlett Dam is a vital link in a chain of water infrastructure. But rising summer temperatures, growing cities that require more water and a two-decade-long megadrought have put stress on that water system.
鈥淲e live in the desert,鈥� McMillan said. 鈥淲e only have a few lakes in all of Arizona.鈥�
And supplying water to those who need it is crucial, McMillan said, but so is keeping the river healthy, and the dam helps do that.
鈥淲e have to supply paying customers downstream. But we also want to keep this river alive,鈥� McMillan said. 鈥淲e want to save the flora, the fauna, the trees and the fish. Without this being here, the river would die.鈥�
Construction on the Bartlett Dam finished in 1939, and the dam has accumulated nearly a century of mud and debris piled behind it. A federal process is underway to figure out the best way to fix the problem, and the Salt River Project .
鈥淎ll those cities down there, they continue to grow,鈥� McMillan said, 鈥渂ut our lake holds less water because of the sediment.鈥�
The lake is currently only half full. McMillan said this is the driest season he鈥檚 experienced since taking the job eight years ago.
鈥淲e are in the hands of the gods when it comes to the lakes and the rain,鈥� McMillan said. 鈥淲e really, really hope we get a really high snowfall in the mountains, because that鈥檚 where most of our water comes from in the springtime.鈥�
McMillan lives in a company house next to the dam. His proximity is important 鈥� he can be at the dam within seconds in an emergency. He cites trespassers and turbine failures that kill all the dam鈥檚 power as potential issues he鈥檇 have to deal with.
He said a series of spill gates is the most critical part of the water system. Every month, he verifies that the gates are still working. 鈥奍f the reservoir ever gets too full, the gates stop it from overflowing.
When McMillan first moved to Arizona from Scotland, he said it was an adjustment from the 鈥渨et country鈥� he was used to.
鈥淭he first couple of summers, it was a bit of a shock to me to see how much harder it was to manage these lakes and keep the water in them,鈥� he said.
But he said he likes the life he鈥檚 carved out in the peaceful desert. He said it鈥檚 quiet where he lives, and he doesn鈥檛 have to deal with the traffic and congestion of more populated places. Plus, he can see the stars clearly at night.
鈥淢y companions are the desert critters,鈥� McMillan said. 鈥淚 feel blessed to be able to do this.鈥�
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