By Tom Buschatzke, Director of the Arizona Department of Water Resources| Pinal Central
(Editor’s note: Opinion pieces are published for discussion purposes only.)
The Roosevelt Dam in 1911. The Hoover Dam in 1936. The Central Arizona Project in 1993.
Monumental projects like these often come first to mind when discussing Arizona’s water history — and these achievements over the years that have enabled our state to thrive.
There’s another that deserves equal, if not greater, recognition: the Groundwater Management Act of 1980.
Over four decades years ago, our state’s leaders came together to pass landmark legislation to protect Arizona’s consumers and groundwater supplies and to ensure we are doing all we can to be good stewards of our most precious resource.
Under the leadership of Gov. Bruce Babbitt, Senate Majority Leader Stan Turley and Speaker of the House Burton Barr, diverse groups from around the state, including cities, mines and agriculture, put parochial interests aside to establish rules for water use in the state’s largest metro areas, including Pinal County. Those rules outlined the standards for groundwater use and established critical consumer protections for water users that have created enormous benefits for Arizonans over the last 40 years.
Today, Arizona uses less water than it did in 1957 — with six times the population and 19 times the economy. We certainly have earned our reputation as a national and international leader in water conservation.
