A proposal that would allow the creation of new agencies to secure new regional water supplies is stalled in the Arizona House, but Speaker Andy Tobin says he’s not convinced opposition from Yuma farmers means the bill won’t move this year, AP reported Sunday.
Tobin’s ambitious attempt to jump-start the effort to secure more water supplies ran into a buzz saw of opposition from ranchers and Yuma-area farmers at a committee hearing last month, with farmers in particular arguing they were worried their Colorado River water supplies were being targeted, primarily to benefit northern Arizona communities near Tobin’s home. The bill was held in committee, a sure sign it faced a nearly impossible climb to passage.
But Tobin, a Republican from Yavapai County who crafted the bill to create new “water augmentation authorities” after the completion of a two-year study of Arizona’s projected water shortfalls, says kicking the can down the road will just make the challenges greater.
He made an impassioned presentation to the agriculture and water committee on Feb. 19, (See RLGR coverage Committee stalls heavily opposed water legislation) outlining what he called the dire prospects for huge future water shortfalls, the estimated $3 billion cost of new infrastructure to move water where it’s needed in Arizona, and his arguments for starting the effort now. He acknowledged the quickly appearing opposition, and offered to radically change the bill to cut out Yuma if the region wanted out, after laying out the history of water in the state.
