Doug Ducey will ask for significant state dollars — $30 million — in his upcoming budget proposal to help make the Drought Contingency Plan a reality.
The news came as the heads of two big water agencies, the Arizona Department of Water Resources (ADWR) and the Central Arizona Water Conservation District (CAWCD), presented a plan to water stakeholders in hopes of pushing the group closer to a resolution.
Buschatzke also acknowledged several items still need to be worked out.
The plan builds on an earlier, three-year proposal from the CAWCD board put forward in case something longer could not garner support.
The plan now on the table provides specific amounts of water and money to “mitigate” Pinal County farmers, cities, and Native American tribes for water they will lose under the DCP, although the mitigation volumes will decrease as the plan goes on.
But Thursday’s framework creates a “Lake Mead Offset” component to make up for those drawdowns.
$30 million state appropriation proposed in Gov.
$20 million to $30 million in federal money already required under existing programs.
An unspecified amount of money, from both federal coffers and Central Arizona irrigation districts, for a groundwater infrastructure program for Pinal County farmers.
“I think this is the hallmark of the way we’ve done business in the past in Arizona water.” But Rob Anderson, with the Home Builders Association of Central Arizona, said, “we think that economic development is an important message and that having nothing in there for developer mitigation is an issue.” He noted a separate but related water agreement between CAWCD’s groundwater replenishment arm and the Gila River Indian Community appears stalled without approval from the Gila River council.