Gov. Ducey urges steps to protect Arizona water supply

TEMPE, Ariz. — Gov. Doug Ducey urged federal officials Tuesday to protect Arizona’s water supply against cutbacks as neighboring California deals with a historic drought.

Arizona has been able to withstand a 15-year arid spell through long-term planning and conservation without limitations, but dropping water levels at Lake Mead and possible shortages of Colorado River water could prompt major cuts in Arizona’s supply by 2017.

That’s because California has senior rights to the Colorado River’s water, meaning Arizona could have its supply cut off long before California sees any reductions.

Ducey stressed that Arizona has already taken much of the brunt of river shortages and said further actions wouldn’t be fair. Arizona should not be forced to pay the price for California’s inability to plan for drought, he said.

“I see the potential for a productive and effective partnership with the federal government so long as their actions to aid California do not reduce Arizona’s flexibility or ability to manage our own water,” Ducey said while speaking at the East Valley Partnership event with the Salt River Project.

Despite his comments, Arizona has little control over the flow of the Colorado River into the state. The flow is controlled by the federal Bureau of Reclamation, whose managers control Colorado River flows in Arizona, Nevada, California, New Mexico and Mexico, among other locations.

Ducey said he wants the federal government to support conservation programs throughout the entire Colorado River system. He also pledged to work with state legislators to increase resources for the Arizona Department of Water Resources, despite the budget he signed cutting the department’s funding for the upcoming year.

His comments come at a time when water managers in Arizona, Nevada and California are limiting the amount of water they are pulling from the Colorado River in an attempt to preserve the resource. Under an agreement reached late last year, Arizona will forego 345,000 acre feet of water over three years.

Deeper drops at Lake Mead, which could come if the drought in the Rocky Mountains persists, could lead to more severe reductions in about a decade.

Arizona Sierra Club Director Sandy Bahr said Ducey hasn’t done enough for the future of Arizona’s water supply. She said a comprehensive plan for Arizona water resources needs to include protections for Arizona’s other rivers and limitations on growing water-intensive crops.

“He didn’t deliver on any kind of vision other than affirming that Arizona doesn’t like California,” Bahr said. “If we don’t get real about really looking at the implications of pumping ground water, we are talking about more dead rivers.”

Related

Man charged with arranging fatal ambush of Microsoft manager faces murder trial in FloridaIn Florida, Wasserman Schultz sparks a debate over what representation means in diverse districtsAll eyez on Tupac: Long-awaited trial begins in rapper’s 1996 killingStates take Meta to trial in California in the biggest fight yet over social media harms to childrenHayden Panettiere, who starred in the television series ‘Heroes’ and ‘Nashville,’ dies at 36Trump blames vandals for damaged grass in the same spot where he held his big July 4 celebration