Contributed Article/Courtesy Arizona House of Representatives
PHOENIX – The Arizona House of Representatives took a critical step today toward addressing the state’s pressing groundwater challenges on Tuesday, as the House Committee on Natural Resources, Energy, and Water advanced House Concurrent Memorial 2003 (HCM2003).
Sponsored by Representative Gail Griffin, Chairman of the House Natural Resources, Energy & Water Committee, the measure urges the Arizona Department of Water Resources and the State Land Department to invest in stormwater recharge infrastructure at 331 sites on state trust land that the agencies have identified as suitable for maximizing groundwater recharge.
“County supervisors, flood control districts, and natural resource conservation districts have the authority to construct stormwater detention basins and other constructive infrastructure that increase groundwater recharge,” said Representative Griffin. “Local and county officials should push the Governor’s Department of Water Resources and State Land Department to develop these projects within their communities to increase local water supplies.”
Governor Hobbs’s budget allocates zero dollars toward developing these sites or new stormwater recharge infrastructure.
“Over 95 percent of rainfall in the state evaporates before it can naturally recharge aquifers,” said Representative Griffin. “Increasing the amount of natural recharge by only a few percentage points would increase the amount of local water supplies substantially.”
Projects like the Horseshoe Draw Recharge Project in Cochise County and the Hualapai Flood Control Project in Mohave County are examples of projects that increase local supplies without expanding the size of government or imposing top-down government regulations on rural industries.
HCM2003 advances the 2025 House Majority Plan by preserving the American Dream through increased water security without infringing on individual rights and liberties.
“The solution to unleashing economic prosperity in rural Arizona through increased water supplies is investing in additional groundwater-stormwater recharge,” added Representative Griffin. “Local communities have tools to address rural groundwater issues. We need to work together to utilize those tools to secure our long-term water supplies.”
HCM2003’s eventual adoption will signal unequivocal legislative support for enhanced groundwater recharge and send a strong message to the Governor, state agencies, and local officials about the importance of encouraging strategic investments to secure Arizona’s water future and of developing the 331 sites to ensure a secure water supply, particularly in areas of the state that rely primarily on groundwater.
Gail Griffin is a Republican member of the Arizona House of Representatives serving Legislative District 19, which includes areas of Greenlee, Graham, Cochise, and eastern Pima and Santa Cruz Counties. Griffin chairs the House Natural Resources, Energy & Water Committee.
