Governor’s Office committed to drought-contingency plan

Arizona Capitol Times reported that Gov. Doug Ducey has committed to completing a drought-contingency plan to leave more water in the Colorado River in order to conserve water levels on Lake Mead. The drought planning comes as the federal Bureau of Reclamation predicts a shortage could happen on the lake as soon as 2020.

Ducey took flak from key lawmakers and conservation groups for conducting a series of closed-door meetings on a water policy overhaul last year. He did and still does think Arizona should speak with one voice on water, which further strained the relationship between the Central Arizona Project and the Department of Water Resources.

Sarah Porter, director of the Kyl Center for Water Policy at ASU Morrison Institute, said the behind-the-scenes conversations are necessary to have honest negotiations that position the parties closer to an agreement.

“You probably don’t cut deals in a room with 40 people at the table and 200 people in the audience,” she said. “It’s not where you actually cut the deal. That’s where you announce the deal.”

It’s also hard to pinpoint what would happen if Arizona can’t come to a deal on where cutbacks would occur, Porter said hoping it doesn’t come to that, but if it does, Porter said she thinks the other Western states and water users would recognize Arizona’s earnest attempts to come to agreement.

“If we weren’t successful, my hope would be that the other states and water managers would give Arizona credit for having made very sincere efforts and would try to figure out some kind of interim management arrangement,” she said.

READ: Governor’s Office immersed in drought talks, water policy do-over