By David Church | Pinal Central
ELOY — With the recent reductions to the use of water from the Colorado River, leaders across the state have been searching for answers on how to solve the crisis. And nowhere will those solutions be more necessary than in Pinal County.
Last Friday’s Pinal Partnership meeting served as a roundtable discussion to both identify the issues and present attendees with ways the county can help best protect its most vital resource.
The meeting featured County Supervisor Steve Miller, Director for Water Rights and Contracts for the Salt River Project Christa McJunkin, Arizona Water Company President Fred Schneider, Government Relations Professional Cheyenne Walsh and Global Water Resources President Ron Fleming.
Over the course of the meeting, the panelists gave their thoughts on where both the county and the state are at when it comes to water.
“We’ve had some difficult times, but it really seems like Arizona has been one of the leaders when trying to come up with solutions,” Miller said. “We are doing everything we can and we are going to continue these discussions with our partners.”
From McJunkin’s perspective, she spoke about how it will be key for the state to “rely on our ability to work together with the other basin states” in order to find a long-term answer to the crisis.
For Pinal County specifically, Schneider said that there is a very stable supply for the time being, but his focus will be on what happens in the future.