TextSearch

Arizona’s top water officials held a town hall at Phoenix’s Burton Barr Library over the ongoing drought and where the city stands on the critical resource.

Officials: Habits, not new technology, will save Phoenix's water | 12news.com × Close Ad Skip Navigation Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on SMS Share on Email Navigation News Back Local Valley Arizona Crime Nation World Near Me Politics I-Team 12News en Español Features Latest News Stories Peoria school district waits to use millions of education dollars already allocated by legislature, because of decades old spending cap School spending cap causing budget uncertainty for Peoria district Connect the Dots: Why have lottery jackpots increased in recent years? Weather Back Forecast Radar 10-Day Hourly Maps Traffic Heat Monsoon SkyCams Latest Weather Stories Here are the celestial events you can see in January 2023 Wintry weather not quite finished with Arizona this week Sports VERIFY Today in AZ00:0000:0000:00GO LIVEFacebookTwitterEmailEmbedSpeedNormalAutoplay Search Search: Search Right Now Phoenix, AZ » 51° Phoenix, AZ » Weather Closings Advertise With Us Meet the Team Forecast TV Listings VERIFY Español RADAR 12News on YouTube Bullhorn Gas prices Arizona Midday Today in AZ Those Who Serve Download Our App Breaking News Read More » More (-1) » Water Wars A 'big project' won't solve Arizona's water woes, experts say. But there's still hope Arizona's top water officials held a town hall at Phoenix's Burton Barr Library over the ongoing drought and where the city stands on the critical resource. Where's political leadership on the Arizona water crisis?00:0000:0000:00GO LIVEFacebookTwitterEmailEmbedSpeedNormalAutoplay More Videos Next up in 5 Connect the Dots: Why have lottery jackpots increased in recent years? Robert Sarver looms over the Phoenix Suns season plus Deandre Ayton speaks the truth (again) | Locked On Suns What is the aftermath of the recent Southwest Airlines travel chaos? There's a renewed push for law enforcement recruiting as Arizona 12News Special: Addressing Arizona's water crisis Author: Hunter Bassler Published: 10:17 AM MST December 9, 2022 Updated: 11:23 AM MST December 9, 2022 PHOENIX — De-salting the ocean, forcing clouds to snow, or a states-long pipeline from the Mississippi River won't create a big enough "new bucket" of water to tackle the root cause of the Southwest's worsening drought, experts said. Technologists' dreams were dashed Monday when Arizona's top water officials gathered at Phoenix's Burton Barr Library for a town hall symposium on the water crisis. There, experts advocated for addressing the unsustainable ways Arizonans use water, rather than calling for new projects that would take billions of dollars and years to complete. Here are some of the highlights: Phoenix may have to stop its most sustainable water practice: storing water in underground aquifers The worsening megadrought will turn conservation from a nicety into a necessity. Phoenix's most popular, and arguably most effective, water conservation practice was storing the water it was allotted but didn't use in aquifers underground. The effectiveness of the practice has led some officials to claim the reserves are what makes the water crisis manageable in Arizona. That practice may soon be forced to stop. "I think cities in the immediate future are going to have to stop storing water," said President of the Central Arizona Water Conservation District Terry Goddard.  "They can get water off the Colorado River for their immediate needs, but the other basin states literally are in anguish about the fact that cities like Tucson, Phoenix and others are taking more water than they're using and putting it underground... To continue to do that is a poke in the eye to other folks who need water from the river." Changing Arizona's water habits was the shared theme at the town hall as practices long believed to be justifiable are now seen as unsustainable. Because groundwater reserves are becoming less of a guarantee, large water users will have to prove whether they are doing everything in their power to conserve, or whether they're wasting the precious resource. "When we look at a new employment or economic opportunity, they ought to be rated on a scale of how conserving of water they are. That doesn't exist right now, and I think it has to in the future." PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Future water cuts are expected to hit the Colorado River. Here's how Arizona is responding Best Headphones of 2022 | Wireless, ANC, Sports, Luxuryfeatured by Another "big project" isn't going to save the next century of Arizona's water Arizona has long been a leader in water management. Projects dating back to the early 1900s, including the Salt River Project and the Central Arizona Project, show that we have recognized how important reliable water is to desert dwellers. The panel revealed that experts don't see another project coming to save us from the ongoing megadrought. "There's a tendency because of [past successful projects] to think that there's another big project out there, there's another SRP or CAP that will save us in the next century. I really don't think there is," Goddard said. Water augmentation, or the process of finding, adding or creating new sources of water, has been the general focus among state lawmakers in addressing the Colorado River's dwindling water levels. However, experts agreed that augmentation should come secondary to adjusting how we use water. "Most of what we need to do... is not really augmentation, but is making different kinds of choices about how water is used," said Grady Gammage Jr., Senior Research Fellow at the Kyl Center for Water Policy. Gammage considers desalination, or the process of making ocean water drinkable for humans, the most likely source of augmentation, but that's still decades away and would cost billions. He also said cloud seeding could have a lot of unattended consequences and piping Mississippi River water to Arizona seems less feasible now that the Mississippi River is also seeing significantly low water levels. RELATED: Despite 'advice' from other states, Arizona won't let its canals run dry, officials say Arizona wouldn't continue to farm alfalfa if it meant cities run dry The Bureau of Reclamation, earlier this year, told the states along the Colorado River they need to figure out how to cut an additional two to four million acre-feet of water in order to keep the river flowing. If the river's water stopped going to every city in Arizona, it wouldn't nearly be enough to meet those cuts, multiple experts on the panel said. Agriculture uses around 70% of the state's total allocation of Colorado River water. If farmers don't cooperate with Arizona's other water users, there's no hope of meeting the cuts. "I don't think we can, with equanimity, face a future that says we will continue to farm alfalfa and not provide water for the cities for health and safety," Goddard said. "Phoenix won't stop its whole operation, but a farm will, if in fact the worst happens and the Colorado River ceases to flow. I think there's a lack of understanding that is in fact the reality that we're looking at here." Agriculture will have to be at the table with cities and tribes when further water cuts come down the line, but the experts also said this doesn't absolve city residents from conserving their water. "We're in an all-hands-on-deck situation," said Kyl Center for Water Policy Director Sarah Porter. "We don't get a pass from conserving because we live in cities and cities use a smaller proportion of water than agriculture. ... We need to permanently reduce the amount of water that we're using, especially outside." Water Wars Water levels are dwindling across the Southwest as the megadrought continues. Here's how Arizona and local communities are being affected.     Related Articles VAI Resort near State Farm Stadium plans to recycle water for massive pool 'It's imperative that we take action': Lake Powell power plant could stop running by July Yes, semiconductor plants use a lot of water, but the vast majority is recycled and returned ZleepThe Secret To Deep REM Sleep With This Genius Sleep Patch BreakthroughZleep|SponsoredSponsoredShop NowUndoVibrianceThis "Botox Alternative" Sold Out At Target (in Just 2 Days)If you have dark spots, fine lines, crows feet or crepey skin, you need to see this.Vibriance|SponsoredSponsoredUndoAction MattersTylenol Has Been Linked To Autism. (Join The Lawsuit)Mothers of children with autism may be owed significant compensation.Action Matters|SponsoredSponsoredSign UpUndoVibrianceThis "Botox Alternative" Sold Out On Amazon (in Just 2 Days)If you have dark spots, fine lines, crows feet or crepey skin, you need to see this.Vibriance|SponsoredSponsoredUndoOnline Security SaversMost Windows PC Users Didn't Know This Simple Trick To Block Ads (Do It Now)Online Security Savers|SponsoredSponsoredLearn MoreUndoZleepNew Sleep Patch Technology Has Taken The Sleep Industry By StormZleep|SponsoredSponsoredLearn MoreUndoAfter Scottsdale shuts off water, Rio Verde Foothills residents left wondering what comes nextKPNXUndoHere's how the Arizona legislators' latest decision is impacting schoolsKPNXUndo Loading next article... Before You Leave, Check This Out Jobs Terms of Service Privacy Policy Ad Choices EEO Public File Report FCC Online Public Inspection File Closed Caption Procedures Do Not Sell My Personal Information © 2023 KPNX-TV. All Rights Reserved. KPNX would like to send you push notifications about the latest news and weather. Notifications can be turned off anytime in the browser settings. No Thanks Allow California ‘Do Not Sell My Personal Information’ NoticeLike many companies, we use online advertising services that use cookies and similar technologies to collect information about your device and online activity on our sites, apps and other online services. These services use this information to try to tailor the ads you see online to your interests. These are called interest-based ads. For more information about our collection, use and disclosure of your personal information when you visit our sites and apps, see our Privacy Policy. Under the California Consumer Privacy Act (“CCPA”), allowing this collection and use of our users’ information for interest-based advertising purposes may constitute a “sale” of personal information to other parties. If you are a California resident, you can exercise this opt-out right by using the toggle switch.   Opting out will not disable cookies or other technologies that facilitate the proper functioning of our website or collect data for purposes that do not involve “sales” of personal information under the CCPA. Opting out will not mean that you will stop seeing interest-based ads or other ads online. Specifically, opting out will not prevent you from seeing interest-based ads based on information that, for CCPA purposes, was not sold, was sold before you opted out or was sold by third parties outside of our control. You can learn more about interest-based ads and additional opt-out choices here. More informationAllow All Manage Consent PreferencesStrictly Necessary CookiesAlways Active Strictly Necessary CookiesThese cookies are necessary for the website to function and cannot be switched off in our systems. They are usually only set in response to actions made by you which amount to a request for services, such as setting your privacy preferences, logging in or filling in forms. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not then work. These cookies do not store any personally identifiable information.Sale of Personal Data Sale of Personal Data  Confirm My ChoicesBack ButtonBack Performance CookiesVendor Search Search Icon Filter IconClear Filters Information storage and accessApplyConsent Leg.InterestAll Consent Allowed Select All Vendors Select All Vendors All Consent Allowed Confirm My Choices

A ‘big project’ won’t solve Arizona’s water woes, experts say. But there’s still hope