As part of its ongoing examination of Arizona groundwater policy, 番茄社区 is visiting with water experts and policy leaders about their views on groundwater and what they believe are the defining issues for one of the state鈥檚 most pressing challenges.

Today CBN visits with Spencer Kamps, vice president of legislative affairs for the Home Builders Association of Central Arizona. 

This interview has been edited for clarity and length. 

番茄社区: Tell us what your job is and what the Home Builders Association does.

Spencer Kamps: I’m Spencer Kamps, vice president of legislative affairs for the Home Builders Association of Central Arizona. We are a business trade organization representing residential homebuilders here in central Arizona — Pinal, Maricopa, and Yavapai County. Our board of directors typically consists of the publicly traded companies and the high production builders that engage in that kind of activity in Arizona.

CBN: Give readers a sense of what you have seen over the course of your career as it relates to water policy and homebuilding.

Spencer: I probably worked on water issues for maybe 10 hours a year when I started. Now water issues take up to 60% of my time. It鈥檚 a very complicated issue. It鈥檚 a big issue in Arizona for reasons like in Pinal County and concerns that there isn鈥檛 enough groundwater to grow, and the Colorado River facing cuts.

Arizona is blessed in a lot of ways. We’re a very competitive market. That’s good for the consumers. We’re still a somewhat affordable market compared to some other regions. But all markets change as well.

CBN: You’ve seen your industry evolve in a fast-growing state in a fast-growing region. Have you and your colleagues ever questioned whether Arizona can sustain this level of demand here in an arid desert region?

Spencer: I think it’s always been in the back of everybody’s mind, but not at the front. Arizona is very, very fortunate, which is a story that I don’t think gets told enough. We have had very serious and thoughtful leaders when it comes to water management and water policy in the state of Arizona. We have a very rich history of being at the forefront of managing this very limited resource.

The Groundwater Management Act was adopted in 1980. California adopted theirs something like six years ago. That’s a great example of how far ahead of the curve we’ve been in Arizona. But I think the drought, the Colorado River supplies, have brought this much more in the forefront.

In my industry, I think people always felt water to some degree would work itself out 鈥� that the problem would always be solved. We might pay a lot more for water, costs might go up, but water will be attracted to money. But we know from the Pinal County situation that the issue isn’t necessarily solved through money, so it’s much more of an issue today for my members to make sure that they’ve obtained their water supply. Early in the process, it’s required by law that we have water supply, so nobody’s avoiding that requirement, but we try and solve our water problems much sooner rather than later, because it can really hold you up.

CBN: Let鈥檚 say that you meet a new legislator who knows that they need to learn more about water, but they don’t really know where to start. From your perspective, where do you like to start with a legislator, whether you’re talking surface water or groundwater?

Spencer: I start with talking about the importance of managing a limited resource in an arid environment. The other thing I tell them is the first bucket of water we had in Arizona was groundwater, and we were depleting that resource, hence the adoption of the Groundwater Management Act.

The second bucket of water we received as a state was the CAP (Central Arizona Project) canal and the Colorado River supplies that are delivered through that canal.

Both those buckets have allowed us to grow immensely to the point where we use the same amount of water we used in 1957. The reason we’re able to grow so much with using the same amount of water in 1957 is because of two reasons, primarily.

Number one is residential growth. We have retired agriculture pumping rights. The ag industry doesn’t have unlimited pumping rights, but close to it. Development falls under the Groundwater Management Act. We do one major thing that doesn’t get talked about a lot, which is we’re able to use groundwater at the location of the development instead of bringing it in, which is a massive infrastructure cost. We’re able to use groundwater and pump it at the location as long as we meet the hundred year assured water supply.

The second thing we do is we replenish it — we put that water back into the ground. So, not only are we retiring ag pumping rights and using less water to serve residential growth, but we’re also replacing the groundwater with reuse to service that growth. It鈥檚 a double win for the aquifer. That’s one of the main reasons residential growth is good if it’s done on ag land.

There are also conservation measures. We don’t irrigate residential lots anymore, like we do in old north-central Phoenix. So those first two components are big, and conservation, quite honestly, is the cheapest way to grow because conserving and doing more with what you have is cheaper than going to buy new water supply.

But the most important thing for legislators to understand is we don’t have a third bucket of water. We really don’t. We need a third bucket of water. That’s Colorado River water supplies, which is highly controversial. You have the Harquahala Valley, which is a recognized transfer base, and by state law it’s designed to be transferred into central Arizona, but there’s been challenges there.

And then we have other entities here in central Arizona who have more water than they need, and whether they put that water on the market for the right cost is challenging at best. So, we’re facing growth issues and supply issues here in central Arizona about how we grow as an economy. The Pinal County situation is a prime example of what can happen when we don’t have enough water. 

CBN: You contend that a housing development on what is currently farmland could be less stressful on the water supply than that current farm?

Spencer: It’s just a fact. With residential growth you use significantly less water than an ag operation.

Again, in the AMAs (Active Management Areas) that I represent, we’re required to replenish one hundred percent of that water. Maybe you’ve heard me talk in the past about the Central Arizona Groundwater Replenishment District. That is the entity that my industry created when the ADWR (Arizona Department of Water Resources) proposed that we’re not allowed to grow our industry on groundwater. There was a compromise that we can grow on groundwater, but we have to replenish it all. So, we created the GRD, the CAGRD, to fulfill that obligation. It’s the only entity in the entire state of Arizona whose sole job is to go buy water, find supplies, and put it in the ground.

CBN: When we talk about recharging an aquifer, the CAGRD does that?

Spencer: That’s exactly what it does. It has numerous recharge basins located within Maricopa County and literally buys water and puts it in the ground to meet that replenishment obligation, to buy a hundred-year supply.

CBN: Before your members can go and build a new neighborhood, a new master plan community, a new development, they need to get some sort of certificate that says there is a one hundred-year assured water supply at that project?

Spencer: There are only two ways we can grow in the AMAs. I am referencing, Maricopa, Pinal and Pima. One, a city or private utility can go to the Department of Water Resources and get what’s called a designation. That means they go in and say, 鈥淲e have X amount of water that falls under the one-hundred-year test and satisfies the Department.鈥� That designation says you can grow X amount under that designation. And then when my builders go into those communities, they draw down that water out of that designation which satisfies the hundred-year test. And then we grow under that scenario.

The second way is in unincorporated areas predominantly or non-designated cities and private utilities. There are many, like Buckeye and Queen Creek. Those communities are non-designated communities. In those cases, we go to the department directly and get a certificate of assured water supply, which is the hundred-year test. And that means that if we drop a well, we can pump it for a hundred years and it will last for a hundred years, but also that we won鈥檛 affect surrounding wells in any negative manner. Once we meet that test, we go join the CAGRD and the CAGRD replenishes the water that we’re going to pump to serve that development.

So, those are the two steps to the process outside designated service areas. You have the well test at ADWR, and then the second is to join the CAGRD.

CBN: Can your members get these one-hundred-year assurances in Pinal County right now? 

Spencer: No. Absolutely not. We can only grow in Pinal County in those designated providers that I mentioned earlier, like the EPCOR service area in San Tan, the town of Maricopa, Casa Grande, Eloy, Florence, and I believe Arizona Water has some designated areas. We’re only growing in those areas right now.

CBN: Let me ask you about farmland in Pinal County that is now using less surface water and is relying more on groundwater. Couldn’t a homebuilder come along and say, 鈥淚f I were to build on this land, I would be putting less stress on the water supply than the existing farm鈥�? If a home puts less stress on the water supply, that provides a water benefit and meets the demand for housing that we see in central Arizona, couldn鈥檛 it?

Spencer: Yes, and that鈥檚 what we鈥檙e saying as it relates to Pinal County. The Groundwater Management Act does, I think, a very good job of managing growth and water supplies in these AMAs. I think it does an exceptional job.

What the Act doesn’t do well is envision what happens in an AMA that has unmet demand, like Pinal County. It doesn’t tell you what happens next. And that’s where we find ourselves in Pinal County.

Agriculture is the predominant industry in Pinal County right now. We made some calculated strategic negotiations during DCP about how we’re going to manage that industry as they lose their access to the Colorado River supplies. And it was to help them with infrastructure needs and drill, and basically mine more groundwater to serve ag. But they’re still going to have to fallow a significant amount of property.

As I mentioned earlier, if you’re in a designated provider, you’re okay, and homebuilding can come in and take down that property and turn it into homes. If you’re not, you’re in a world of hurt.

One big solution for Pinal County is to allow growth to continue. The state doesn’t have the resources to compensate farmers to have them not farm. But development is a natural way for that to happen, and we’ve done it in Maricopa County.

In the Maricopa County AMA, the original rules were originally designed for farmers to get out of farming and sell their property to homebuilders to allow for growth to happen. So, this isn鈥檛 a model that hasn’t been tested 鈥� it鈥檚 been done in Maricopa County.

If we do nothing in Pinal County, agricultural eventually is just going to use as much groundwater as it can. There are limitations to how deep they can go. There are cost issues about how deep they can go, but they’re going to access that groundwater as much as they can, and rightly so because they’re trying to stay afloat. But under our regulations, we’ve not allowed development to retire as much ag land as possible. We need to allow that to happen. The only way to do that is to introduce a new, renewable supply, a new surface water supply to satisfy ADWR鈥檚 modeling and we need to do more. I think curtailing development hurts groundwater as much as doing nothing.

CBN: Talk a little more about the unique situation in Pinal County as it relates to the AMA.

Spencer: The Pinal AMA has been uniquely managed through its assured water supply rules. They are in a 鈥減lanned depletion鈥� AMA, whereas Maricopa and Pima are safe yield. So, we’ve had a different goal in Pinal. I think that’s led to some of the problems.

Pinal County for all intents and purposes is one of the last affordable housing markets. It’s one of the reasons San Tan is one of the hottest housing markets in the country. It’s because that entry level product’s so easy to build out there and it’s in high demand. So, something needs to change down there. And this has been a problem for going on eight years. We haven’t had a certificate (of assured water supply) issued since 2015. We had some 30,000 to 40,000 lots that were put into production in 2008 in the heyday that had been sitting there. We’ve grown through those, and we have massive lot supply problems. Land prices are going up because there’s limited areas you can grow. We need to solve this problem. My industry’s very frustrated by it. It’s very, very difficult. If this issue is not solved soon, you will see the lack of housing activity in Pinal start to impact Arizona鈥檚 economy in a negative way. 

CBN: But isn鈥檛 agriculture an essential Arizona industry?

Spencer: Oh, yes, and we’ve never denied that. We’ve never tried to get in the way of the ag industry accessing the water. We partnered with them on many occasions. And we will continue to partner with them. We’ve had some conceptual discussions with securing water supplies with the ag industry and letting them use it until we get there. There are challenges with doing that, but they can be overcome and hopefully, we’ll get there soon.

CBN: For homebuilders who cannot get a one-hundred-year assured water supply today, will they be able to tomorrow, or in five years, 10 years? Will this issue ever change?

Spencer: That is the million-dollar question. If you had asked me that six years ago, I would’ve told you that we would have this problem solved by now. So, from the perspective as someone who has been involved in the homebuilding industry, I’m very frustrated. The solution is not limited to introducing new surface water supplies to Pinal County. It is a complicated mix of reforms within the system and introducing new water supply.

CBN: What do we do about water supply? You’ve talked about the CAGRD as way of replenishing aquifers, but is there something more we need to be doing to address the supply side other than praying for rain?

Spencer: I think Speaker Bowers did a big first step last session when he allocated $140 million for the drought committee. That is a good first step that’s focused on out-of-state supplies, but I think we also need to focus on in-state supplies, both desalinization, which is a long-term play, and also looking at bringing in the Harquahala water, which is a designated transfer base, and it can go a long way to solving a lot of problems.

There are a lot of entities that have water, more water than they would ever use. And those individuals need to put it on the market either to sell it or lease it. If you bought a house next to ASU when your child was 10 years old for a good investment, you wouldn’t let it sit there until they went to college 鈥� you would rent it out. Leasing water is a very good option for people to put water out on the market that they’re not using today.

We need to have a massive discussion about whether we’re going to bring in water from the farthest areas of the state to central Arizona. The ultimate decision could be that we don’t do that, but we wouldn’t grow as a state. Those are the consequences.

We need to figure this out because Maricopa, Pinal and Pima, all the taxpayers of those areas pay for the CAP canal. And the supplies delivered by the CAP canal were given out decades ago and not everybody got a piece of the pie. The CAGRD is the one way to balance that equation because no matter where you are in Pima, Pinal or Maricopa County, if you meet that a hundred-year assured water supply test, you can access the CAGRD and develop and any landowner can join, and any farmer can join if they wanted to put their property into development, and any city can join, and any private utility can join. It’s fair and equitable for everybody to get a benefit of the CAP canal. If we don’t do that, the only people who benefit are the ones who got water out of the CAP canal.

So, we need to figure out how to get the CAGRD more water in my opinion, and to get more renewable supplies down in Maricopa, Pinal and Pima, with Pinal being the priority, and the state needs to make a critical decision about whether we want to invest in these new supplies or not. We need to have those conversations to figure out how to solve this.

CBN: Pinal County’s a very hot area for job growth right now. Not just homes, but people going to work there in good-paying, attractive jobs. Where are they supposed to live?

Spencer: We’d love to solve that puzzle. We’d obviously love to be the provider of all those homes. We don’t want to be like California. We don’t want high, high housing costs where the middle class can’t engage in the economy by making one of the biggest investments that anybody ever makes, which is buying their own home and creating value and assets in their lives. We don’t want to get to that spot, but we’re fearful that we will.

CBN: Would growth rely on a mix of water sources?

Spencer: I don’t see how as a state we grow without groundwater. As it relates specifically to homebuilding, there’s no reason we should be prohibited from using groundwater because we replenish it all. We’re a positive asset to the groundwater tables when we grow. The cost of not growing on groundwater is so expensive that it would destroy housing affordability. We would have to somehow put a big pipe from the CAP canal and direct deliver that to the development. Those costs are astronomical.

CBN: You mentioned the 1980 Groundwater Act, and we did the Drought Contingency Plan a couple of years ago. Do you think it’s time to do another sweeping groundwater bill that is reflective of the here and now?Spencer: I don’t think so. I think the Groundwater Management Act is a good foundation. It can always be improved upon, but I think it’s an excellent foundation. The AMA model is a great one. I think what the state needs to focus on is conservation, reducing use of groundwater without replenishment, and introducing new supplies.

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For the first time in history, the federal government has declared a water shortage on the Colorado River, which serves as a lifeline to more than in western states like Arizona and California. 

States that are used to receiving substantial amounts of water from the river are going to be receiving considerable cuts in water availability. The river has served as a source of affordable hydraulic power and provides water for irrigation systems to countless farms in the region. 

The Declaration came as no surprise to regular water watchers, as the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation has been consistently monitoring the levels in Lake Mead as it continues to fall. Currently, the reservoir sits at and is dropping. Levels this low have not been seen on Lake Mead since the Hoover Dam was built in . 

The largest cuts to date are set to shrink the flow of water in the 336-mile long Central Arizona Project Canal that has provided water to farmers in the desert cities and farmland stretches for over . 

The reductions are following the course of action outlined in the Drought Contingency Plan, signed in 2019. The agreement provided a backstop provision that called for the members of the original agreement to reconvene if the levels in Lake Mead reached below the elevation of 1,020 feet. 

The voluntary and mandatory Tier 1 cuts that the DCP outlined means that Arizona will lose supply, which amounts to 30% of the water that goes into the Central Arizona Project and 8% of Arizona鈥檚 overall water supply.  

Farmers in Pinal County, in preparation for the shortage, have turned their focus on improving other methods to access water sources such as groundwater. Improved well pumps will allow more and better access to groundwater, but there are still going to be massive impacts to the farming community. 

According to the president of the Arizona Farm Bureau Federation, Stefanie Smallhouse, up to that relies on the Colorado River as the main source of water has the potential to be fallowed over the next few years. 

鈥淚 can鈥檛 think of many other businesses that can take a 40% cut in their income within a few months and still be sustainable. When you farm, it鈥檚 not only your business, it鈥檚 your livelihood,鈥� Smallhouse the Associated Press last spring. 

However, Arizona farmers are not projected to be the only ones affected by the water shortages that are being implemented. 

Rhett Larson, an associate professor of water law and policy at Arizona State University , 鈥淭he fact that you鈥檙e not feeling it at your tap doesn鈥檛 mean you won鈥檛 feel it at your grocery store because Pinal County farmers are growing a lot of the things that you eat and use.鈥�

Even in the face of future hardships, there is hope for the state with a strong history on water policy and management. Leaders throughout the state have a positive outlook on the prospective turnaround for Arizona land and water management by working with other state leaders. 

鈥淭his is a serious turn of events, but not a crisis,鈥� Arizona Department of Water Resources Director Tom Buschatzke . 鈥淲e can and will address these issues and be successful together in partnership.鈥� 

While Arizonans need to be observant and vigilant about their water usage, there is no reason to initiate panic protocol.

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After being sidelined by the pandemic last year, Arizona legislators are back in session and moving quickly this week to revive and enact bills to protect water and natural resources to provide for citizens and businesses for decades to come.

There is no time to waste. Arizona is now into its 21st year of a scorching drought that is depleting the most important water resource in the Southwest, the Colorado River.

Ground and surface water are now more important than ever. To that end, state lawmakers are rushing to revive and fast track critical bills that will help protect and conserve both.

鈥淭he name of the game this session is companion bills to move them,鈥� state Sen. Sine Kerr, R-Buckeye, said about committee chairs in both houses working in tandem to push through 鈥渕irror鈥� bills on water and natural resources that never made it to the finish line last year due to COVID-19. 

Kerr, who is the chair of the Senate Natural Resources, Energy and Water Committee, was one of several lawmakers and state officials who updated the business and manufacturing community last week on the bills they are working on during the virtual Environmental Issues Breakfast Legislative Kickoff hosted by the (AMC) and the . Snell and Wilmer sponsored the event. 

Other speakers included Rep. Gail Griffin, R-Hereford, chair of the House Natural Resources, Energy and Water Committee, and Rep. Tim Dunn, R-Yuma, chair of the House Land, Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee as well as officials from Governor Doug Ducey鈥檚 office and the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ).

One of the measures that has been revived and is fast-tracked through committees is known as the 鈥渦se it or lose鈥� bill that is important to business and manufacturing. 

鈥淯se it or lose it鈥� legislation  

The legislation, HB 2675, would create an important new step to conserve groundwater, the speakers said. 

It would repair a quirk in current law that acts as a disincentive to conserve water. That鈥檚 because current state forfeiture law provides that a water right may be lost after five years of non-use.  

That has done little to encourage water holders to conserve supplies, the speakers said.    

HB 2675 would remove that barrier and ensure that water holders鈥� conservation efforts will not result in the loss of water rights. Under the proposal, a water right holder could file a Water Conservation Plan with the Arizona Department of Water Resources (ADWR). Upon filing a plan, the holder鈥檚 water rights would be shielded from a claim of abandonment or forfeiture. 

鈥淚f you have five acre feet of water and you only need to use three acre feet, we want you to save and not lose your right to it,鈥� Griffin said. 鈥淩ight now if you don鈥檛 use the allocation you stand the risk of losing that right.鈥�

Surface water protection bill 

Another piece of legislation important to manufacturing and industry is a bill to protect surface water from contamination. It is needed to address changes to the federal Clean Water Act last year that removed federal jurisdiction over certain small bodies of water in states. 

With that federal jurisdiction removed, Arizona needed to add some protections of its own, said Amanda Stone, intergovernmental and community affairs director for the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ), who spoke at the event. 

If approved by the Legislature, the bill would provide surface water protections for water that is used for things like recreation, fishing and drinking, Stone said. 

It also provides steps to work with farmers, businesses and other organizations up front to prevent water contamination. 

鈥淚t鈥檚 not only good for the environment, it鈥檚 good for the business community,鈥� Stone said. 

Wildfire prevention, removal of invasive species, nuisance lawsuits

Legislators also talked about a host of other bills the public can expect to see this session, including forest restoration and wildfire prevention to protect watersheds in the northern portions of the state. 

Other measures include funding to remove invasive species like saltcedar that is sapping waters and streams and wildlife habitats across the state, continue a cleanup of contaminated groundwater wells in Tucson, and to enact 鈥渘uisance鈥� lawsuit protection for farmers and the agriculture industry from frivolous lawsuits. 

Corporation Commission overstepping its role?

Another issue that is expected to come under debate this session is the role of the Arizona Corporation Commission. Among its many duties is the regulation of public utilities including setting renewable energy requirements and goals for utilities.

Governor Doug Ducey and others are concerned that the commission is overstepping its authority in that area, said Chuck Podolak, the governor鈥檚 natural resources policy adviser, who spoke at the event. 

Last summer, the Arizona Supreme Court opened the door to allow state lawmakers to overrule the commission on renewable energy standards. 

鈥淭he Governor is essentially in agreement with the Supreme Court,鈥� Podolak said. 鈥淲hen it comes to energy, there’s a role for the ACC and there鈥檚 a role for the legislature.鈥� 

About the Arizona Manufacturers Council

The is the official state affiliate of the National Association of Manufacturers. AMC acts as the voice for Arizona鈥檚 manufacturing industry, which has been a major contributor in keeping Arizona鈥檚 economy afloat during the pandemic. Currently, the industry employs about 177,000 workers statewide and pumps about $30 billion annually into the economy.

The Council holds regular meetings to bring together environmental policy experts, industry stakeholders and state legislators to discuss Arizona’s most pressing environmental issues. These events often are free to the public. For more information, visit: .

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Drought is not something that is uncommon in the Southwest United States. However, Arizona has stood out in taking active measures to improve the use of the state’s water resources.

One of the largest supplies of water that the state has access to is groundwater, which makes up. The second largest source is the Colorado River, which makes up 36% of the water supply. With the largest amount of water supply for the state coming from groundwater, it makes it a vital resource for the state. By and large most of the water used within Arizona is by the agricultural sector, which accounts for 73%, followed by municipal use at 21%, and the industrial sector rounds it out at 5%.

Groundwater is composed of the water resources beneath the surface of the earth. It is found in natural reservoirs, or aquifers. The sediments in aquifers are filled with different amounts of water, which means some areas can contain more water than others. If there are mass amounts of water being pumped out of aquifers, it can cause damage to the land. Additionally, there can be runoff in shallow groundwater and heavy metals in deeper groundwater.

Early water management

In 1980, Arizona passed the, which protects the users of groundwater and works to decrease the reliance on groundwater statewide, with a focus on heavily populated areas.  

Another program in Arizona working towards water conservation turned 35 years old this year: the Central Arizona Project. This diversion canal is a 336-mile diversion system that brings water from the Colorado River to central and southern Arizona. Since its implementation, the CAP has come to provide the state鈥檚 and serves a total of 80% of the state鈥檚 population. 

There has been a slew of proposed reforms recently by both Democrats and Republicans in the state Legislature regarding the use of groundwater and its potential overuse in unregulated rural areas. 

Both House Bills 2895 and 2896, two bills introduced during the 2020 state legislative session that were introduced in an attempt to regulate the usage of groundwater, failed to pass in the pandemic-shortened legislative session.   

Today鈥檚 approach to drought

With a history of drought, the state has also attempted to craft assurances that its citizens will not be endangered by a lack of water. 

Arizona in 2019 adopted the (DCP), a multi-state effort with Mexico to keep Lake Mead from falling to drastically low levels. The DCP means collaborative action in order to protect the sustainability of the Colorado River as a water resource for the 40 million people who depend on it. 

The creation of the DCP when representatives of the seven Colorado River Basin states signed the Colorado River Compact ensuring that the river would flow to all the states in the Basin and Mexico. 

In 1956, the Colorado River Storage Project Act was signed into law for the construction and regulation of reservoirs in the Upper Basin states. Since the passage of the Storage Project Act there have been many subsequent bills passed to add additional efforts to the storage project plan. However, in 2018 Bureau of Reclamation Commissioner Brenda Burman gave the lower basin states a deadline of January 31, 2019 to create the DCP. 

The DCP that was created has many moving parts, which made it longer to compromise for creating an agreement.

Tom Buschatzke, director of the Arizona Department of Water Resources, said about conservation efforts, 鈥淚t is not easy to achieve that outcome while respecting the unique rights of each State, various Tribes and Mexico to Colorado River water.鈥� 

After months of negotiations, the seven different states finally agreed on a plan to cut back the usage of the Colorado River without lasting impacts to any one state.

In January 2019, Governor Doug Ducey signed an executive order creating the which has worked to further the purpose of ensuring a long-term sustainable water supply for Arizona.

Arizona鈥檚 water management programs and long-term planning have made it possible for there to be of water stored underground to be used in the future if the need ever arises. This amount is the equivalent of water services for the city of Phoenix for 30 years at the current rate. 

Gov. Doug Ducey earlier this year said that the issue of water conservation should be planned for the long term.

鈥淲e don鈥檛 want to deal with this one generation at a time,鈥� the governor said. 鈥淚t should be focused, strategic and ongoing in terms of water innovation.鈥�

U.S. Senator Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz., has echoed this sentiment saying, 鈥淎rizona鈥檚 future depends on securing our water supply. Our legislation ensures Arizona has the resources to address drought conditions and restore our waterways so we can continue expanding opportunities across our state.鈥�

State business leaders have talked about the issue of the state鈥檚 conservation efforts being the key to continuing economic success. 

Todd Reeve, director of Business for Water Stewardship, recently spoke on the topic, saying, 鈥淲e want to be in Arizona forever to invest in communities and jobs and we need to have certainty around water in the long term.鈥�

Taylor Hersch is an undergraduate at Arizona State University and an Arizona 番茄社区 Foundation Junior Fellow.

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