Water Security Must Remain a Top Priority

As Arizonans process the results of last week’s election, including a new majority at the state legislature, the seriousness of one issue has not changed: water security. Now more than ever, Arizona must show that it is taking action to ensure long-term water security despite major reductions in a key water supply – the Colorado River.

Both the federal government’s new framework for managing the Colorado River and the reality that the river is producing less water mean Arizona can no longer depend on the Colorado River as a reliable water source.  

Conserving water by reducing waste must remain a priority for all of us who live here in the desert. We will need to use even less water as we confront deeper Colorado River reductions. Yet conservation alone will not offset our lost Colorado River supply. Augmentation is necessary to reliably replace Colorado River water for existing residents and to ensure our economy and job market can continue to thrive.

To show that Arizona and our communities can still thrive with less Colorado River water, we must invest in new supplies. Developing new water supplies – including Advanced Water Purification, expanding Bartlett Dam, desalination, and other efforts – is necessary to offset Colorado River cuts, prevent over-pumping our aquifers, and allow our economy to continue to thrive. Certainty about our water future has been and will continue to be what enables us to call this desert our home.  

These new supplies will be expensive, but there is no affordability without water security. The AMWUA cities, along with their residents and businesses, cannot shoulder the cost alone through water rates. We need sizeable federal relief for this Colorado River crisis. Arizona also needs to establish a dedicated revenue source to offset the costs of these projects, as Texas did last year. These investments in water security are crucial to show current residents and businesses, and the rest of the country, that Arizona will thrive in the desert despite our new reality of having less water from the Colorado River.

While those new supplies are being developed, we must avoid any perception that a water provider cannot meet the demands of its community. This is why AMWUA cities and other water providers must be able to readily access the water they and the Arizona Water Banking Authority have invested in and stored underground for exactly this situation. The AMWUA cities understand that long-term pumping of the aquifer is not the solution to long-term water certainty. Again, this is why we must invest in new supplies.   

Ultimately, the Governor, the Legislature, municipal providers, and other stakeholders must work together to ensure we have the water necessary for Arizona’s long-term future. The seriousness of our water challenges means we no longer have the luxury of partisanship or of sectors contending with one another.  We are all in this pivotal moment together to find solutions that ensure water security for all Arizonans now and for generations.  

For 57 years, the Arizona Municipal Water Users Association has worked to protect our member cities’ ability to provide assured, safe, and sustainable water supplies to their communities: Avondale, Chandler, Gilbert, Glendale, Goodyear, Mesa, Peoria, Phoenix, Scottsdale, and Tempe. For more information, visit amwua.org.