The prime beneficiary of the Central Arizona Project has been agribusiness. 69% of Arizona's water is devoted by agricultural activities and, with the depletion of the aquifers in the Phoenix Valley, CAP water becomes ever more important to maintaining agribusiness. With the coming reductions in water allocations from the Colorado River, something has to give.
Agricultural use of water in Arizona grew tremendously when CAP came online. The use of large amounts of Colorado River water has led to a myriad of issues including (ironically) water shortages due to over-use, salinization of farm lands, water speculation, and government-subsidized waste.

Imagery: abandoned farm lands along the CAP canal, aquaculture in the desert, integrated feed lot operations, energy/chemical intensive farming, salinization of irrigated lands.