“We live in the desert. Let’s act like the desert” is the mantra of a coalesced statewide movement to protect and conserve Arizona’s groundwater. Because the state legislature has not taken any actionable action on the problem of water shortages.
The Arizona Sustainable Water Network Coalition, Cochise County Groundwater Guardians, and others are uniting conservation efforts through their 2024 Citizens’ Ballot initiative.
They argued that if state legislators do not adopt groundwater withdrawal regulations, the Colorado River will dry up, and as development, agriculture, and other industries access groundwater, they will seek to accelerate the development of regulatory processes to address the problem. He said it would be a citizen-led initiative.
On February 17, ASWNC hosted a meeting in Phoenix with stakeholders across the state, including Cochise, Pinal, Mojave and Yuma counties, to find common ground on how to move forward.
The state Senate has a bill, Senate Bill 1306, but organizers don’t expect any forward movement on the groundwater situation.
The bill, introduced by Senator Sonny Borrelli of the 30th District and Rep. Leo Biasiucci of the 5th District (both Republicans), adds long-term city and county groundwater regulations and lays the groundwork for a zoning code.
Such actions have been taking place for years without success, says ASWNC conference moderator Kristen Wolfe. She said some of the inaction was due to Rep. Gail Griffin, a Republican representing the 14th District who chairs the Natural Resources, Energy and Water Commission.
Griffin was contacted but was unable to respond by press time due to previous commitments.
“We are working with the Sustainable Water Network to propose policies to prevent further degradation of Arizona’s rivers, lakes and springs and to find new ways to balance Arizona’s water rights,” Wolfe said. , previously convened the Sustainable Water Workgroup.We need more transparency.Groundwater is important for everyone and we need to address its depletion.We want to close loopholes in active management areas.” bottom.
Closing these loopholes involves key numbers that have yet to be made public. That’s how much water our industrial and agricultural wells are really pumping from thousands of years old aquifers that can’t be sustained by rainfall or recharge.
Also discussed are groundwater connections to riparian areas in Arizona, such as the San Pedro, Santa Cruz, Gila, and Salt Rivers. Hydrologists at the U.S. Geological Survey have studied connectivity and know that riparian areas are maintained by upflow from groundwater. The group would like to include an environmental impact statement on how water withdrawal affects wildlife.
Willcox resident Steve Kisiel of Cochise County Groundwater Guardians pointed out that the Willcox Basin is Arizona’s most endangered source of groundwater. In his own experience, he saw his well drop 120 feet in his 20 years, even though his family had not lived on the property in years. His well ran dry in 2013, and he said, “It was a wake-up call.”
His father, who was a hydrologist, preached to him over the years about the absurdity of the desert cotton fields as he drove from Tucson to Phoenix.
“This was 60 years ago and it wasn’t sustainable then,” he added.
An AMA was proposed for the Wilcox Basin, but voters did not approve the action. So, as large-scale agricultural expansion continues unabated, countless people are wondering if they can have water for their small farms, backyard gardens, or regular homes.
These large-scale users of groundwater do not have to disclose their water use, and as industrial agriculture expands and deeper wells are dug into aquifers, people see well water levels falling. The same goes for mining and the Arizona Department of Transportation, whose road construction uses groundwater for their projects.
“For this reason, we are building a People’s Power campaign to call directly on corporate agriculture to stop industrial extraction of groundwater,” the Guardians website said. In the same way that people put their financial assets in trust so they can grow despite market ups and downs, they expect to leave a legacy to their heirs. There is also the temptation to move to a similar vehicle, a charitable trust, to ensure Cochise County’s water safety through generation 7. Citing the Code of the West, sales Remember there are things that aren’t, so know where to draw the line.”
One of the problems the Willcox AMA proposal encountered was opposition to state control. Rural communities and many agricultural officials were suspicious of government intervention, he said.
Part of SB 1306 asked county oversight boards to control groundwater to some extent, he said.
With the support of the Arizona Department of Water Resources, this measure provides rural Arizona people with new funding sources and locally adaptable options for groundwater protection. This is seen as a better option for AMAs and would end unrestricted pumping of groundwater.
Kisiel said Griffin dropped the bill after a successful vote on a proposed additional designation – Rural Management Area (RMA).
“She declared it a hostile amendment,” he said.
In response to a question, Griffin said, “SB 1306 does not provide local control over our groundwater. It is a governor-appointed council that puts together plans for our water. That’s right. ..and there are no local votes for property owners in the area.”
She also donated $50 million from lottery money to agencies, either state or government agencies, Indian tribes, or non-profit organizations, to implement programs for our water management, regulation, groundwater abstraction and use. did not approve the provision of use for the purpose of .
She said, “There is no plan written. It’s a blank check. The City of Sierra Vista and Cochise County have done an excellent job of conserving water. They have won awards for their water conservation plans and continue to do so.” We will continue to plan for the water conservation needs of the citizens of Cochise County and Arizona.”
Kisiel also found problems with putting groundwater management under a supervisory board. There are supervisors on the board who oppose government regulation and others who oppose the Willcox AMA initiative.
San Pedro River advocate Tricia Gerodet said the group enlisted the help of lawyers to prepare a bill that never passed Griffin.
House Bill 2661, introduced last year, would have allowed the county board of oversight to establish rural management areas and water tax districts at its own discretion. Once an RMA is established, it will be governed by a Regional Council. Members of the council are not elected by voters, but by recommendation of the supervisor to the governor, who appoints the members.
According to the bill, the BOS requires that groundwater use is approaching withdrawal rates equal to or greater than current recharge rates and that physical signs of over-pumping of water are documented or reliably observed. If so, specify the rural management area. The documentation includes examples of well water level drops, hydrologically relevant surface water level or flow drops, or ground subsidence, Wilcox Basin and Douglas Basin to some extent real-world problems.
Griffin and supervisors English and Judd opposed the bill.
Tom Prezelski of Rural Arizona Action, who worked with others on the RMA bill, said: Both houses are now amicable to such considerations. The county superintendent of Mojave County is conservative, but he sounds like a radical when it comes to water issues. “
Sanda Clarke, who ran with Griffin for a seat in the House of Representatives in November, said, “We need to prevent access to water for the interests of foreign countries like Saudi Arabia.”
Roz Switzer, a member of the Great Old Broads for Wilderness, a national organization, pointed out that there are water problems statewide and suggested that anything developed could be applied statewide.
Carey Meister of the Yuma Audubon Society noted that Yuma County’s groundwater supply has a high salinity level and will be a “significant problem” for them.
Tim Flood, along with the Arizona River and the Arizona Riverbanks Council, reiterated the need for environmental impact assessments to prevent riparian areas from depleting and impacting the wildlife that depend on them.
Roger McManus, with Friends of the Sonoran Desert, explores the need to know how much water is left in state aquifers and the need for transparency so that the public can be informed about the health of the system. I repeated.
Groundwater Conservator Jerome Gray wants to build a “peaceful army that accepts demands to Congress.”
The proposal was to ask Gov. Katie Hobbs to issue an executive order to help move initiatives to protect groundwater supplies.
Moderator Wolff said, “There’s a lot of expertise and experience with local environmental and community groups. Conversations are all over the place. Over time, something coalesces into meaningful groundwater protection.” At a minimum, we will notify the legislator that any action is unacceptable.”
The coalition will hold another meeting in April to continue negotiations.
