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GLOBE, AZ --Water turf wars, conservation, recharge, inter-basin transfers, water mining and dueling hydrologists were topics tackled by rural Arizona watershed members at a forum in Globe December 3-5, 2002. Stakeholders from rural Arizona toiled to find common ground in local and regional water issues and crises. Participants concluded that although there are many shared needs, one-size-does-not-fit-all. What works for one watershed might not work for another. Legislative action giving more control and decision-making power to local watersheds topped the rural watershed representatives' priority list.

An affiliation of 17 regional watershed planning groups, the Arizona Watershed Alliance hosted the conference so rural water stakeholders could tag issues for the upcoming legislative session. Arizona Rep. Tom O'Halleran, R-Village of Oak Creek, was instrumental in arranging the forum.

O'Halleran's goal was to bring rural Arizona people together to identify commonly shared interests and discuss the future water supplies of Arizona. "We will use those results as a foundation for future development of legislative projects to deal with the issues that came out of the meetings." Incoming chairman of the House Natural Resources, Water and Native American Affairs Committee, O'Halleran said he is traveling all over rural Arizona "to listen to needs and work to formulate legislation that will allow us to practice better water management in the future."

Watershed groups are concerned that Arizona law does not recognize the hydrological connection between surface water and groundwater. Other than Colorado River allotments, much of the state's surface water originates in the mountains and central highland areas through rainfall and snow. From there it flows into the urban parts of the state. Northern Arizona is short on water, but rural areas have little claim to their local water sources, often appropriated before statehood through the doctrine of prior appropriation, or "first in time, first in right." A source of contention for some, rural watershed representatives worried that water seems limitless in urban Arizona, which boasts of 200 artificial lakes, myriad golf courses, fountains, swimming pools, abundant green grass, and every type of water-sucking flora imaginable in the arid desert environment. Growing water demands and limited supplies face Arizonans statewide.

Incoming Senate President Ken Bennett, R-Prescott, vowed to prioritize water issues in the upcoming legislative session. "The budget will be first, and water second," he pledged.

U.S. Geological Survey's Bill Steinkampf said some groundwater being pumped from aquifers has been there for years, decades, centuries, and even millennia. He said surface water problems caused by development of groundwater pumping might take 10 years or 100 years before the problem is identified. "If you pump for a while and then you stop, everything doesn't get better," he emphasized. Speaking of the groundwater-surface water connection he said, "You can't dance with one without dancing with the other."

Citing high demand and little supply, former Arizona Department of Water Resources lead attorney Mike Pearce told the rural residents they could no longer look to the Colorado River to solve their water problems. Now in private practice, he said the Endangered Species Act is a trend that will change the way water is managed in Arizona. He spends about 70 percent of his time in private practice mitigating such issues.

Pearce said the public trust doctrine is an additional consideration in future water management laws. In 1845 the U.S. Supreme Court gave states ownership of the beds of all waterways that were navigable at the time of statehood. Upon statehood in 1912, Arizona became a trustee under the "public trust" doctrine. The doctrine says the state may sell or give away the beds of applicable waterways only for the benefit of the public's use of the waterways. Historically the state has never recognized the doctrine and has been in litigation with environmental organizations for attempting to disavow ownership. Pearce said Arizona population will continue to grow and people will have to understand that water will get more expensive. "We've had a very cheap ride on water in Arizona," he said. "It's the dawn of a new century in a lot of ways."

Talking about the Gila River adjudication process, Apache County Supervisor Dave Brown said although there have been some settlements, no actual water rights have come out of 25 years of litigation. Also a rancher and water attorney who represents the five cities and towns in the Verde Valley, farmers in St. David, the Arizona Cattle Growers and citizens in Payson, Brown said groundwater and surface water issues continue to keep the adjudication from being resolved. "Without adjudication rural users are dead. We have to resolve federal and Indian issues first," he said. "We cannot try this on the backs of the little people."

Citing the differences in rural watershed needs, Brown said, "What is good for the Verde Valley is not good or what works for lower Apache County." He said, "Apache County would love to have some new development and jobs. We have water to offer, but no one comes. The Verde Valley doesn't have water." He said Yavapai County is going to need their own solution and that solution will be much different than what Apache County needs. "Don't move the water to the population, move the population to the water," he said.

Rep. O'Halleran said people have to realize they are part of the problem, process, and solution. "We can't afford to move backwards, we need to move forward," he said.

A list of rural water management recommendations will be ready when the legislature convenes. Alliance coordinator Robert Mawson will work with forum participants in the next 30 days to finalize the report based on the stakeholder dialog group meetings. Information about the Arizona Watershed Alliance can be accessed at http://www.water.az.gov/watershed.

Pictorial Coverage of AWA Rural Conference

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