2014-08-16 Should state help fix local water issues?

Arizona faces challenging water issues as we continue to increase in population, with concurrent increase in water demand. In the Prescott and Verde Valley regions, the Central Yavapai Highlands Water Resources Management Study has calculated the need for a large quantity of water to meet growth demand out to the year 2050, with even more needed to achieve safe yield for our aquifer and to protect the Verde River.

Projects, such as Big Chino or Colorado River pipelines and desalination of ocean water, which have been mentioned as potential sources for those large-quantity needs, would be challenging both to finance and to administer. Although the burden of meeting that demand ultimately rests with the local water providers, we need to consider areas where the state can or should provide assistance.