[GUEST OPINION] Securing Arizona’s future prosperity — A strategic vision for water supply sustainability

Arizona Capitol Times

(Editor’s note: Posting opinion pieces is strictly for purposes of discussion.)

Arizona has a long history of addressing our water supply challenges.  Before statehood, farmers and ranchers in Phoenix’s Salt River Valley put their own lands up as collateral to finance the construction of Roosevelt Dam, providing a more reliable water supply and reducing the impacts of flooding and drought as well as setting the stage for prosperity unimaginable in those early days.

Years later, as Arizona continued to grow and prosper, Sen. Carl Hayden led Arizona’s fight for its rights to use Colorado River water in central Arizona. After nearly 50 years of political and legal battles, the Central Arizona Project began delivering this important resource to Phoenix and Tucson, protecting Arizona’s groundwater resources for future generations.

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