Paper water should equal wet water
OPINION — I have written 100 essays about Arizona water, runaway growth, sprawl, wildcat development, the Colorado River and the relentless destruction of the desert we keep claiming we want to save. At some point the argument has to become simpler: enough is enough.
We know the river is shrinking. We know groundwater is being overdrawn. We know the 100-year water guarantee has become buried beneath credits, certificates, transfers, replenishment schemes and legal language that almost nobody outside the system can follow. We know every new subdivision creates another permanent demand for water and permanently removes another piece of desert from the map. And still the answer from the growth machine is more growth.
Where are the adults in the room?
Who is willing to stand up and say Arizona does not have to build on every acre simply because somebody can make money doing it? Who is willing to tell a developer that getting land approved for growth does not mean the water exists to support it? Who is willing to tell the Chamber that growth cannot endlessly be justified by the need to pay for the problems created by growth? Who is willing to tell elected officials that a 100-year assured water supply should mean 100 years of actual water, not 100 years of creative accounting?
Paper water should equal wet water. Make “assured” mean assured again.
And if the water is not physically there, leave the desert alone.
There has to come a point when protecting what remains matters more than finding one more way to keep the machine moving. Arizona is past that point.
Enough is enough. Adults in the room, please stand up.
Please submit comments at yourvalley.net/letters or email them to AzOpinions@iniusa.org. We are committed to publishing a wide variety of reader opinions, as long as they meet our Civility Guidelines.
