Colorado River
Opinion: Recent headlines might leave you with the impression that Arizona is a poor water steward. Here’s how our state must counter the narrative.
By Joanna Allhands || The Arizona Republic
The national press has had a field day with two not-so-positive Arizona water stories.
About 500 homes in the unincorporated community of Rio Verde Foothills can no longer haul water from Scottsdale, the neighboring city to the south.
Meanwhile, a state-produced model has found that the area north and west of Buckeye does not have enough groundwater to support future massive developments.
They’re alarming stories, but the coverage has piled on the hyperbole. Some headlines have made it sound as if an entire “Arizona town” was cut off.
One even took a giant, misleading leap: “Phoenix runs out of water.”
Arizona is not living with its head in the sand
The Colorado River – once 40% of the state’s water supply – is dwindling. About 80% of Arizona and about 20% of its population has no rules on groundwater pumping, which is draining many of our rural aquifers.
Add in these troubles sprouting in metro Phoenix, an area covered by the state’s most stringent groundwater management rules, and we’ve got urgent issues that require urgent responses.
But the headlines make it sound as if we’re completely botching our jobs as water stewards.
That’s not entirely fair, either.
