Rural areas need more say to manage dwindling water

Businesses across Arizona have begun to heal from the devastating impact of the pandemic, but it isn’t the only threat the business community faces.

In August, the federal government declared the first-ever Tier 1 water shortage at Lake Mead, triggering mandatory water cutbacks along the Colorado River to stabilize reservoir levels.

Farmers and businesses that rely on water from the Colorado River are increasingly reliant on groundwater to make up for a dwindling supply. And, in many rural Arizona communities like mine in Mohave County, almost all of our supply already comes from groundwater.

Despite the importance of groundwater to Arizona’s communities and businesses, far too little has been done to effectively manage this resource. As the state grapples with a historic megadrought, looming cutbacks to our water supply from the Colorado River and increasing reliance on groundwater supplies, we need new approaches to protect and manage our groundwater for the long term.

The importance of groundwater to our economy cannot be overstated. A recent report from Arizona State University and Business for Water Stewardship found that Arizona’s groundwater is critical to our state’s economic engine.

Groundwater contributed to an annual average of 43% of the state’s gross domestic product, or $1.2 trillion over nine years. More than 1.5 million jobs are dependent on sustained access to this water. All sectors of Arizona’s economy are engaged in management of our groundwater, including industrial, commercial, mining, municipal, utility, ranching and agriculture users.

As the head of the Kingman Area Chamber of Commerce, I know that if we fail to take action to protect groundwater supplies, my community, our economy and others like us will suffer. That is because Arizona’s rural communities will feel the impact of dwindling groundwater most acutely.

Often far from central water utilities, reliant on wells and economically dependent on farming, rural communities need to be empowered to make informed and locally driven decisions on how to manage our water supplies.

The continued success of Arizona businesses and communities relies on our ability to sustainably manage our groundwater, but our rural communities lack the tools, funding and support to make informed decisions about our supplies and how best to manage them.

Fortunately, there are steps we can take to protect our groundwater resources.

Rep. Regina Cobb is exploring legislation that would allow communities, through their boards of supervisors, to create rural management areas only for groundwater basins at risk, set goals and, through an advisory council of local citizens appointed by the governor, propose best management practices for those basins that could include other conservation and planning measures.

The local plan would then go to the Department of Water Resources for review and final approval.

Cobb is convening monthly hearings to discuss the idea and hear from stakeholders, and I was pleased to recently testify in favor of this concept. The next meeting is Nov. 17.

Legislative action to authorize management of Arizona’s rural groundwater in basins at risk will demand active participation and a commitment to sustainable solutions from both state leadership and local business and community leaders.

Under Cobb’s bill, local citizens will draft a plan for the individual basin at risk for state review and approval. Only those management plans with local support will win approval.

The future of Arizona’s rural economic development depends on our ability to manage and protect the resources that sustain us. We must all come together to support local communities and businesses to address this pressing issue, ensuring they have access to a secure and sustainable water supply for generations to come.