By Elizabeth Whitman | Phoenix New Times
An environmental group has branded four Arizona candidates for the board of the Central Arizona Water Conservation District as the “Clean Water Team.”
The problem is, the 15-member board does not deal with cleaning up water. The nonpartisan CAWCD board sets policies for the Central Arizona Project, which brings water from the Colorado River to Arizona cities including Phoenix and Tucson.
The political effort, mounted by the Washington, D.C.-based Environmental Defense Action Fund, tells voters, “A clean and reliable water supply is vital for our future,” and urges them to vote for candidates who will keep water “clean, safe, and affordable.”
“The flier is very misleading, because it basically states that this [clean water] is the job of the CAWCD and it’s not,” said Kathleen Ferris, an expert on water in Arizona and a key figure in the 1980 Groundwater Act. Ferris has endorsed and donated $250 to a CAWCD candidate who is not on the flier, Alan Delaney, and donated $250 to Heather Macre, one of the candidates who is.
