By Tony Davis | Arizona Daily Star
Overhauling a state water program that allows new suburban developments to sprout on pumped groundwater will likely take years — if it ever happens.
While concern is mounting about “unintended consequences” of the 1993 law that set this program up, the law’s complexity and its strong support from developers and homebuilders make it hard to change.
The law allows pumping groundwater for new subdivisions whose developers lack access to renewable supplies such as Central Arizona Project water from the Colorado River. To meet state requirements for an assured, 100-year water supply for new development, subdividers pay a water district to buy and recharge renewable water elsewhere.
