91果冻传媒

State water leaders laid out the hard facts of Arizona鈥檚 water crisis to a crowd of 280 members of the real estate development community and others Friday at an event hosted by Valley Partnership, an active advocate for the industry. 聽

History is in the making. An unrelenting 19-year drought is shrinking the 鈥渃anyon maker,鈥� the grand Colorado River that feeds seven states along the upper and lower basins. Arizona is racing along with the other states to fend off the first official water shortage and forced cuts to water supplies, likely next year.

For the development community, it鈥檚 a critical issue, Valley Partnership President and CEO Cheryl Lombard told a packed room at the Phoenix Country Club Friday.

鈥淲ater is an important economic development tool, and it’s our water security, for us as 聽residents and as business owners,鈥� said Lombard, who is a member of the statewide steering committee that worked feverishly – and contentiously – for the past six months to negotiate Arizona鈥檚 part of a seven-state Drought Contingency Plan (DCP) that lays out who will see reductions in water supplies when a shortage occurs.

Now, it鈥檚 in the state legislature鈥檚 hands. A legislative resolution must be approved to allow the State to sign onto the DCP 聽by Jan. 31 or face federal takeover of the process. Arizona is the only state that requires legislative approval.

Getting the current plan through the legislature and approved by Congress is a top public policy goal for Valley Partnership this year, Lombard said.

Lombard invited four top water executives to speak about three water issues that affect the development community: the DCP, a deal to secure future water supplies for builders, and the water reliability in Pinal County after the takeover of Johnson Utilities.

The speakers were Arizona Department of Water Resources Director Tom Buschatzke; Central Arizona Project General Manager Ted Cooke; Gila River Indian Community Governor Stephen Roe Lewis; and Epcor USA President Joe Gysel.

All four urged everyone to support quick passage of the DCP at the Legislature.

鈥淲e need all of you to go to your favorite legislator and express your support for the implementation plan,鈥� Buschatzke said. 鈥淚t was put together very, very carefully. It鈥檚 a delicate balance that can鈥檛 be disturbed.鈥�

The plan is designed to protect Lake Mead. It lays out how water will be shored up in the lake and who will receive forced reductions in supplies under a shortage. If the legislature fails to meet the deadline, it could end disastrously with a federal takeover and potentially years of litigation.

鈥淭he Department of Interior will not let Lake Mead crash,鈥� warned Cooke. 鈥淲e have a chance to do this on our own or the United States will step in.鈥�

Cooke and Buschatzke, who co-chaired the statewide steering committee, have worked years to get the DCP implementation plan in place. Both emphasized it is merely a band-aid to secure water supplies through 2026. At that point, a new DCP must be renegotiated. Work is already in progress for the next drier phase.

鈥淪o this is an important step but it鈥檚 only a step. All those other problems will still exist,鈥� Buschatzke said. 鈥淲e have to plan for a drier future. This is the future.鈥�

Gov. Stephen Roe Lewis of the Gila River Indian Community also spoke about the community鈥檚 role in the DCP and a deal to secure water for developers. Gila River has agreed to a $97.5 million, 25-year agreement that would allow builders to buy water from the tribe to replenish groundwater in the state鈥檚 growing megaregion.

That deal, however, hinges on the DCP approval at the legislature. Any amendments could 鈥減oison the fields鈥� and cause it to fail, Lewis said. 聽

鈥淚鈥檓 optimistic the legislature will approve it but I want to be clear. Our support is not unconditional,鈥� he said.

Gov. Doug Ducey has stated that he will not sign off on the DCP if provisions that protect Lake Mead are altered.

The final speaker at the event, Epcor USA President Joe Gysel, detailed the status of Johnson Utilities in Pinal County. After ongoing complaints and violations, Johnson was ordered last October to hand over financial and managerial control of its operations to Epcor. Epcor, an award winning water and wastewater company that serves approximately 360,000 customers in Arizona, is upgrading operations and has hired additional employees.

Gysel said that the company is investing $40 million to bring operations into compliance and replace and rebuild facilities.

鈥淲e need to rebuild the trust with customers,鈥� Gysel said. 鈥淧eople need to know their utilities will provide them with safe quality water when they turn on the tap.鈥�

For more details about Arizona鈥檚 part of the seven-state water shortage pact, go to: .