Why Arizona lawmakers must act now – and do something big – on water

Arizona lawmakers have a chance to do something significant on water this year – something helpful and timely, given the massive cuts looming on the Colorado River.

Or they could waste a giant opportunity.

It all comes down to the next few weeks.

Some want to use the cash to import water

There is wide agreement to put $1 billion toward water projects.

The hang-up is over how to invest it and who should make those decisions. Gov. Doug Ducey has proposed creating a water authority to oversee the cash, but he faces opposition from Republicans who say that would create an unnecessary layer of bureaucracy that could delay distribution of the cash for years.

They have a point.

But there also seems to be a fundamental misunderstanding about where the money should go – one that has grown even more glaring, given the recent bomb drop that basin states must use 2 to 4 million acre-feet less water by next year just to keep Lake Mead and Lake Powell from tanking.

A fair number of lawmakers think most of that $1 billion should be earmarked for projects that import water from somewhere else – most likely, to help fund a potential desalination project in Mexico, a project that Gov. Ducey alluded to in his State of the State address.

But we’re missing the boat if that’s how this shakes out.

That'll take decades. We need water ideas now

Any project that finds water in some other state or country – if it materializes – would be at least a decade away. And that’s in a best-case scenario.

We need to act now.

That doesn’t mean we should abandon efforts to study Mexico desalination as part of the larger, binational group that must be involved in any such deal. But it doesn’t make much sense to squirrel away most of that $1 billion for a long-term maybe.

Particularly if projects within Arizona, such as canal lining, drip irrigation conversion, stormwater capture and aquifer recharge, or water recycling for potable use, could produce measurable savings or amounts of water sooner.

These and many more ideas to save water or maximize supplies internal to the state also should be eligible for the funds.

Given the magnitude of cuts looming on the Colorado River, cities will be asked to absorb far deeper cuts than anyone had planned. Even on-river users with the most senior water rights are likely to be curtailed.

That will further strain the state’s water supplies, particularly groundwater, which especially in rural areas, was already under considerable stress.

A billion dollars won’t solve all those problems. Lawmakers also must address glaring loopholes in state water law that allow for glaring overuse.

But a comprehensive review is not likely to happen in the next few weeks. This funding could.

Whatever you do, don't kick the can

Granted, this is the first session in a long time where lawmakers have been forced to work together, to make concessions with folks they might not agree with to get bills across the finish line.

The stalemate on the budget shows many lawmakers have forgotten how to do that.

But water authority proponents have genuinely listened to those with concerns and made good-faith, bipartisan efforts to address them. And while the draft legislation is certainly not perfect, it contains useful details about how we maximize the impact of this investment.

Some have pushed to include some form of rural groundwater rules, arguing that if we’re going to invest heavily in new water for these areas, the last thing we want is to have those with the deepest wells pump it all right back out.

That would be ideal.

But with time quickly running out on the session, others have proposed to park the money for a year, most of it in a fund to import water from who knows where, and figure out the details later.

That’s a mistake.

Whether the Legislature creates an authority or uses an existing board to disburse these funds, priority one should be to ensure the money can be distributed quickly, to a wide range of projects that can demonstrate actual water savings or water generated for the communities they’d serve.

Arizona has a rare opportunity to do something big on water.

Or we could kick the can.

Please, lawmakers, whatever you do, don’t kick the can.

This is an opinion of The Arizona Republic’s editorial board. What do you think? Send us a letter to the editor to weigh in.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Arizona lawmakers cannot kick the can on water this year