Water interests of concern for builders, developers

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Chamber Business News reported that Arizona home builders in the populous center of the state are worried that emerging water wars threaten the development of the Sun Corridor, the megaregion between Phoenix and Tucson.

As water interests across the state race to negotiate how to mitigate shortages, keeping development strong in Arizona will be one of their biggest challenges.

For the past 22 years, the Central Arizona Groundwater Replenishment District (CAGRD) has been doing just that. It provides groundwater replenishment services to dozens of towns, cities, and landowners in Pima, Pinal and Maricopa counties. Member fees enable it to buy water to replenish groundwater to last one hundred years for new housing developments as required by the state.

Strategic efforts on all fronts need to take place to ensure Arizona continues to be attractive for investment and development, said Sarah Porter, director of the Kyl Center for Water Policy at Morrison Institute at Arizona State University.

Sharing resources will be key, Porter said.

“We are at the point where our supplies are fully allocated,” she said. “Yes, we have some supplies for growth but some supplies are going to have to come from negotiated reallocation.

“It’s going to take creativity and funding and negotiation if we’re going to continue to use CAGRD as a vehicle to make sure there is water for home building.”

READ: Quenching the thirst for Sun Corridor megaregion