YOUR WATER: THE NEXT 100 YEARS

posted by Amer Taleb

Vital to keeping the state’s citizens and economy alive, Arizona’s water resources are a bubbling hot topic in academia. Over the next 100 years, the Grand Canyon State will see more urbanization and population growth, but how water is used and conserved remains unclear.

Three water-related reports are the bedrock of next week’s “Urbanization, Uncertainty and Water: Planning for Arizona’s Second Hundred Years” conference hosted at the University of Arizona in collaboration with Arizona State University’s Morrison Institute for Public Policy.

A water-induced crisis is not expected to strike Arizona anytime soon and such a scenario is not inevitable, but inaction can change that quickly.

At least one projection shows the Southwest losing billions of dollars in economic impact annually because of increased water shortfall of surface and ground water, according to a Grand Canyon Institute report that will be discussed at the conference.

“To ensure Arizona maintains sustainable economic growth requires recognizing the contribution of water as an engine of economic stability,” wrote Karen L. Smith, report author and an institute fellow.

Water resource certainty drives Arizona’s economy and is essential to our $10.5 billion dollar recreation and tourism industries, according to Smith’s report.

A one-size-fits-all solution does not exist in a state filled with diverse landscapes and communities with unique concerns.

Through patience, persistence and public education, answers can be found, wrote Sharon B. Megdal, director of the UA’s Water Resources Research Center, in her contribution to a Morrison Institute report, which also will be discussed at the conference.

“The people of Pima County realize how critical water management is for their future,” she wrote. “… they must work together on shaping that future.”