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Articles Tagged ‘groundwater pumping’

Babbitt: Big Chino, the Verde River: a time for action

Former Arizona governor Bruce Babbitt expresses his concerns about threats to the scenic Verde River from proliferating subdivision proposals and lot splits, industrial agriculture and especially from excessive pumping of water by Prescott and Prescott Valley.

To learn more, view a pdf of CWAG's column in the Daily Courier, published January 18, 2022.

We are anticipating Governor Babbitt's presentation at the CWAG meeting on Sat. Aug. 13, 2022

OpEd: Are domestic wells draining our aquifer?

Are domestic wells draining our aquifer? No.

In the Prescott Active Management Area (PrAMA), family homes in rural areas that are not served by a water utility must rely on a small domestic well. The Arizona Department of Water Resources (ADWR) calls these family wells “exempt wells,” meaning that they are not required to report annual water use.

ADWR management plans do not mention and fail to protect these families. ADWR is apparently unaware that about 500 family wells on the edges of the Little Chino aquifer in the PrAMA are now failing, an early symptom of excessive groundwater pumping. Worse, one local water manager has historically blamed family wells for the groundwater overdraft, claiming the wells are unregulated. This is an attempt to deflect blame from the true culprits by scapegoating.

To learn more, view a pdf of CWAG's column in the Daily Courier, published April 7, 2024.

OpEd: Population growth versus water

Growth is inevitable and there is no legal or practical way to stop it. However, growth can be managed and regulated by local zoning and city policies. Many citizens hope and believe that water resources can be used to limit growth, but that is not the case. 

To learn more, view a pdf of CWAG's column in the Daily Courier, published February 20, 2024

DAILY DROPLET

  • "Ranchers need clean water for their stock, farmers need it for their crops, every employer needs it to stay in business, and every living thing needs it for life... The law needs to be clear to protect water quality and the rights of landowners."
    Mark Udall

  • "Water is the driver of Nature."
    Leonardo da Vinci

  • "When the well is dry, we know the worth of water."
    Benjamin Franklin, Poor Richard’s Almanac, 1746

  • "...and since flow of information is to spirit what water is to life, we'd best think about how to keep the pipes free and unclogged."
    Raphie Frank

  • "In an age when man has forgotten his origins and is blind even to his most essential needs for survival, water along with other resources has become the victim of his indifference."
    Rachel Carson

  • "We forget that the water cycle and the life cycle are one."
    Jacques Yves Cousteau

  • "Water is life's matter and matrix, mother and medium. There is no life without water."
    Albert Szent-Gyorgyi, 1937 Nobel Prize for Medicine

  • "Water is everywhere and in all living things; we cannot be separated from water. No water, no life. Period..."
    Robert Fulghum

  • "It's the water. Everything is driven by the water."
    Mike Thompson

  • "Whiskey is for drinking; water is for fighting over."
    Mark Twain