As the Colorado River teeters on the brink of shortage, water leaders in Arizona are begging developers to pressure legislators to sign off on a drought plan, while also aiming to reassure those developers that despite a drier future, it’s safe to come to Arizona and build.
Without a drought contingency plan, the federal government will step in and impose cuts far more severe than Arizona would face with one, Arizona leaders expect.
“People are starting to wonder,” she told Phoenix New Times after the event.
The idea that Arizona’s water future is secure, despite drought and shortages, is “the biggest economic message we can have out there,” Lombard said.
At Friday’s meeting, Buschatzke and Cooke tried to strike a balance.
They emphasized that a looming shortage on the Colorado River is dire, and real enough that developers should support the Drought Contingency Plan, but they also explained the plan as helping the state successfully transition to a drier future.
The Central Arizona Groundwater Replenishment District, an entity that is vital to developers by helping them meeting legal requirements to have sufficient groundwater, was in a good position right now, despite the drought on the Colorado River, Cooke said.
The reason the deal is only nearly closed, and not signed, sealed, and delivered, is because it is contingent upon the Drought Contingency Plan getting through the Legislature.
But unlike Buschatzke, Cooke did not beg developers to call their legislators and demand they pass the Drought Contingency Plan.
“There needs to be a good deal of trust.” Governor Stephen Roe Lewis of the Gila River Indian Community stepped up, reiterating the message that the Drought Contingency Plan was Arizona’s best bet for a secure water future — and with it, future growth.