TIME'S UP ON 100-YEAR WATER SUPPLY

posted by Michael Chihak

Seeking background on Arizona's water issues is akin to seeking background on state political history. There's a lot of it, and in fact, the water issues history parallels the political history.

One year before Arizona became a state, central Arizona farmers coalesced to ensure a 100-year water supply, as documented by the Arizona Republic's Shaun McKinnon in a March 9, 2011 story. They did so by securing the construction of the Roosevelt Dam, which created the first in a series of reservoirs for their farms in what is now the sprawling Phoenix metropolitan area.

Note it was 100 years ago that they made the move to secure a 100-year water supply.

Thus, time is up.

So now what? More conservation, new water supplies, restrictions on growth? All of the above will be needed to get through the next 100 years.

In the March story, McKinnon quoted a researcher at the Morrison Institute for Public Policy, Grady Gammage Jr., as saying: "We'be probably got another 30 years to run without doing anything too dramatic," regarding water supply. "Beyond the 30-year point, if you assume we will continue to grow even close to the pace we have ... beyond 30 years, something dramatic has to happen."

Friday's Arizona Week will look at the water picture for Arizona, short-term and long-term, by speaking with the key overseer of water supply for the state, Central Arizona Project General Manager David Modeer.

We also will interview Gregg Garfin, a University of Arizona geoscientist and climate expert on long-term implications and the effects of climate change.

Republic reporter McKinnon, who covers water and environment, will appear on the journalists' panel, along with Gisela Telis, Arizona Public Media's online producer who has a science background, and Sarah Walters, meteorologist for KPNX-TV, Channel 12 in Phoenix.