Finding solutions to the water rights fight
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Sarah Porter, director of Morrison Institute’s Kyl Center for Water Policy at ASU, was a guest on Arizona Horizon and spoke about the Gila adjudication water rights to pump and divert water, not only from the Gila River, but all of its tributaries as well.
What started as a fight over surface water rights evolved to include subflow zones, which are areas where a well is pumping water that would otherwise make its way to a river.
“It might be the most complicated court case in history,” Porter said. “I think that very complication is one of the reasons why it’s not very well known, not nearly as well known as it should be.”
The Kyl Center’s mission is to highlight creative solutions to the adjudication that will hopefully result in an increase in settlements. Porter says a report will be coming out that includes a solution set of ideas.
SEE: Gila adjudication lawsuit negotiates nearly 60,000 competing water rights claims
(Running time: 9:27)