Opinion: An alarming prediction about Pinal County facing a water shortage is a myth that’s based on outdated assumptions and incomplete data.
By Jordan Rose and Tom Galvin, opinion contributors | The Republic
Mark Twain once wrote of his difficulty with math by ascribing a quote about the flexible power of numbers to British Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli, “There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics.”
Farmers, developers, landowners, residents and elected officials in Pinal County are now empathetic with Twain because we are trying to dispel a growing notion that “Pinal County is out of groundwater.”
The Arizona Department of Water Resources (ADWR) is working on revising a model based on outdated assumptions and incomplete data that have perpetuated the myth that Pinal County is facing a water shortage. In fact, Pinal County has plenty of water for today, tomorrow and 100 years from now.
Farmers and cities are good stewards
The agricultural and municipal sectors rely on substantial and robust aquifers and are responsible stewards of water for today’s needs and for future demand.
