The Need for Water Conservation is Strong

Feb. 5, 2003
By the Associated Press

PHOENIX (AP) At Governor Janet Napolitano's urging, the state's top water officials are creating a statewide conservation plan.

Napolitano on Tuesday reiterated her State of the State pledge to promote water conservation on a statewide basis but said details have yet to be decided.

"We have to be planning for a long-term water shortage," Napolitano said Tuesday.

Department of Water Resources Director-designate Herb Guenther said Napolitano is activating a task force on drought that will address water shortages in rural Arizona.

The task force will survey towns on their water needs and find out whether towns expect to face shortages over the summer.

Guenther said delivering water-saving messages to rural areas will be one of the main objectives of the conservation plan.

"We're trying to get the message out, just like we have in the cities," he said.

Guenther said the conservation plan will also develop a threshold for when the state should declare drought emergencies.

Val Little, with the Water Conservation Alliance of Southern Arizona at the University of Arizona, said a statewide plan could have significant advantages over individual conservation plans by cities or counties.

"If we have a statewide effort of a public information campaign your saturation is better," Little said. "Anytime you can use economy of scale and deepen your saturation, you are well ahead."

A successful plan would also encourage governing bodies to set rates that provide an incentive to use lower amounts of water and cash incentives to motivate people to change landscaping to lower-use plants and plumbing fixtures to newer ones that use less water.

Mitch Basefsky, a Tucson Water spokesman, said the city has been ahead of the curve when it comes to conservation techniques, including requiring low-use desert landscaping and an education campaign that dates to the mid-1970s.

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