Central Arizona Project warns people of the dangers of canals during monsoon season

PHOENIX (KSAZ) - The Central Arizona Project boasts 336 miles of canals.

"It is uphill where we take water from the Colorado River to our canal south of Tucson. We pump the water uphill at fifteen different points along the canal," said Ted Cooke, the General Manager of CAP.

According to Cooke, the water is fast moving.

"The purpose of the canal is to move the water not to swim or fish or any of those other things," Cooke said.

Cooke says this time of year, especially when monsoon rains cause the water inside the canals to swell, they can pose a dangerous, even deadly threat.

Water rescues like the one in Ellsworth become all too common.

SkyFox was over the scene this past Monday when a 10-year-old boy found himself in flood waters that almost became too much to handle.

"So 18 feet of water moving through our canal is something that is much taller than any person. There's no way that an individual or an animal that finds their way into that water is going to be able to escape," Cooke said.

According to Cooke, all of the canals managed by CAP are fenced. Those barriers, he says, are there for a reason and shouldn't be ignored.

"If you see a fence there, that usually is a warning sign and if there's a fence there, it's there for a reason. It's not to be mean, it's not to keep the fish for ourselves or something like that. It's to make sure people are safe," Cooke said.