By Kiera Riley Arizona | Capitol Times
A vast majority of Arizona voters support securing long-term water supplies and enacting stronger groundwater protections, but have little faith in Arizona’s current water policies’ ability to sew long term sustainability, according to the latest survey from the Center for the Future of Arizona.
Voters’ recognition of water as a key issue facing the state is not new, but has crept closer to the forefront of voters’ consciousness given prolonged drought conditions, lack of oversight of groundwater supply and general anxiety over the state’s water future.
“The interest in water, the concern around water and the desire to make sure we have sustainable practices around water and protect future water resources isn’t a new issue,” Sybil Frances, president and CEO of the Center for the Future of Arizona said. “Certainly, going into this election, there’s great understanding and concern among the public that this is an important issue, but going back quite a ways in our public opinion survey research, we found that Arizona voters understand the centrality of water.”
