[Southern_AZ_MWS] CAP Board Candidates

[whwpud at aol.com]

 I am sticking my neck out on this, but if anyone would like to hear what I have learned about specific candidates, they can call me.  I have been doing research with local politicos and environmental folks.  

Carol Brown



 325-9874






-----Original Message-----

From: Candice Rupprecht <candicer at CALS.arizona.edu>

To: gila_stacruz_mws at CALS.arizona.edu

Sent: Tue, 21 Oct 2008 4:49 pm

Subject: [Southern_AZ_MWS] CAP Board Candidates



  
            
Hi   Stewards!
  
 
  
A few of you have asked   if I can provide you any information on the candidates running for the Central   Arizona Project Board of Directors.  There is not a great deal of   information available, but the Arizona Daily Star has bios for all of the   candidates and they ran an article that I have included below.  It is   important to know that this board does not make policies that address   growth, but they do set water and property tax rates, they make   decisions about new infrastructure and requests to buy excess water and the   board is involved in a long-term process to find additional water supplies and   distribute them through the CAP infrastructure.  Based on this job   description, it would be advantageous for individuals to have a background and   experience with water management in Arizona.


  
Here are the candidate   bios: http://
www.azstarnet.com/special/08candidates 
  
 
  
For more information on   the role of the CAP and water in Arizona, please visit: www.cap-az.com  or www.cals.arizona.edu/azwater


  
Thanks!
  
Candice
  
 
  
Candice Rupprecht
  
Statewide Coordinator
  
Arizona Master Watershed Steward   Program
  
 
  
University of Arizona Cooperative   Extension
  
Water Resources Research   Center
  
350 N. Campbell Ave.
  
Tucson, AZ 85719
  
office: 520.792.9591 x.24
  
cell: 520.275.1950
  
 
  
http://cals.arizona.edu/watershedsteward/
  
 
  
Published: 09.29.2008



Six are seeking Pima County's four positions   on CAP board 

By Erica Meltzer 

ARIZONA DAILY STAR 

DID YOU   KNOW 

The Central Arizona Project is a large system of canals that sends   Colorado River water 336 miles from Lake Havasu City to Tucson. 

The system   provides nearly 3 million acre-feet of water annually for farming and   municipalities in the Phoenix and Tucson regions. It also supplies 12 Indian   tribes. 

Construction of the project took 20 years and cost $4 billion. While   construction began in 1973, planning and lobbying for the project began more   than 50 years earlier. 

For more information on the Central Arizona Project,   visit www.cap-az.com. 

Sources: CAP, Star archives
=0
D
The   board that oversees the CAP and makes decisions about where our water will come   from in the future is in for some wholesale changes. 

Six candidates, just   one of them an incumbent, are running for Pima County's four seats on the   15-member Central Arizona Water Conservation District board. 

Maricopa County   controls 10 seats on the board, while Pinal County has one. 

One of those   giving up his seat is former Tucson Water director David Modeer, who now works   for the city of Phoenix. His departure means the single largest user of Central   Arizona Project water in the state will no longer have a voice on the board.   

Representatives of two smaller water companies ­ Arturo Gabaldón,   president of Community Water Co. of Green Valley; and Warren Tenney, assistant   general manager of Metro Water ­ are seeking seats on the board, as are Pat   Jacobs, a retired courts administrator; Steve Lenihan, a land-use and real   estate attorney who once was the president of a private water company; and   Sharon Megdal, a resource economist with the University of Arizona who works on   water issues. 

Carol Zimmerman, a political consultant, is seeking a second,   six-year term. 

While the group generally agrees we need more than just the   CAP to guarantee our water future, they part ways on how to achieve that added   supply. 

The CAWCD board oversees operation of the 336-mile CAP pipeline, =2
0 which delivers Colorado River water to dozens of municipal, industrial,   agricultural and Indian users in Maricopa, Pinal and Pima counties. 

In   addition to setting water and property tax rates, the board makes decisions   about new infrastructure and requests to buy excess water. The board also is   involved in a long-term process to find additional water supplies and distribute   them through the CAP infrastructure. 

Zimmerman worked on a strategic   planning effort known as ADD Water, which stands for acquire, distribute and   deliver water. 

CAP has junior status on the river, meaning our supplies will   be cut first in the event of a shortage. Zimmerman said that makes finding   additional supplies even more important. 

"We need to be at the forefront of   everything that is going on to make sure we're protected," she said. 

Many of   the ideas in the ADD Water program focus on increasing the amount of water in   the Colorado River, whether through cloud-seeding or by getting the Yuma   Desalting Plant up and running. 

The plant was built to improve the quality   of Colorado River water that goes to Mexico by treaty, but has not been used. If   it were brought on line, it could satisfy some of our treaty obligations to   Mexico, allowing more water to be held back for use by Southwestern states.   

Zimmerman said she would be a strong advocate for Pima County as decisions   are made about how to=2
0distribute future water supplies. 

Megdal, the author   of a water resource study that concluded Pima County already has enough water,   provided more use is made of effluent, said she is frankly skeptical of the   effectiveness and affordability of cloud-seeding and of some other efforts to   get more water. 

"What's feasible and at what cost?" she said. "The sooner   people look realistically at what is feasible over what time period and at what   cost, the sooner we can make realistic decisions." 

Megdal said she is   running because the board faces some very difficult decisions, especially in   regard to the Central Arizona Groundwater Replenishment District, and she wants   to contribute to those discussions. 

Water companies and homeowners that   don't have a renewable water supply can join the CAGRD, which recharges CAP   water on their behalf. The CAWCD board also oversees the replenishment district.   

But the district does not necessarily recharge in the same areas where   groundwater pumping is occurring. And questions loom over how the replenishment   district will meet future obligations, where future recharge facilities should   be built, and how much it will cost homeowners, who pay for the additional water   through property taxes. 

The replenishment district also relies on CAP water,   potentially putting its needs in conflict with other users. 

Megdal said   board members need to look at doing more frequent plans 
for the replenishment   district and interact more with developers, homeowners and local jurisdictions.   

She said location of replenishment sites clearly is an issue, but building   new infrastructure could be expensive. 

Zimmerman said she would favor   increased conservation requirements for subdivisions that join the GRD.   

Gabaldón said he felt it was very important to have someone from southern   Pima County on the board. The water table in Green Valley is dropping 4 feet a   year, and there is evidence subsidence could start to be a problem. 

The CAP   pipeline ends at Pima Mine Road, and there is no recharge south of there. As   president of Community Water Co., Gabaldón has entered into an agreement with   Canadian mining company Augusta Resources to build a pipeline to deliver   Community Water's CAP allotment. 

Even with Community Water taking its own   steps, Gabaldón said there needs to be more underground storage in Pima County   to enhance the reliability of CAP supplies. 

"We cannot rely on CAP water   without storage," Gabaldón said. "If there is a problem on the pipeline, I   cannot tell people, 'For the next two days, don't drink.'" 

That's a priority   for Tenney, as well. A group of water providers in the Northwest, including   Metro Water, are working on their own storage and treatment facility for direct   delivery of CAP water to their customers. 

Tenney said Pima County
 needs to   have more storage and back-up pumps, similar to what exist in Maricopa County.   

Plans for storage in Pima County were put on hold when Tucson Water stopped   direct delivery of CAP water. Because Tucson Water recharges CAP water into the   aquifer at its Clearwater project in Avra Valley, building additional storage   became a low priority. 

But with smaller water companies moving to make use   of their CAP allotment and even do direct delivery, it has become an issue   again. 

"A lot of people with CAP allocations are moving forward with direct   delivery. We need the reliability," said Tenney, who also said he would have a   short learning curve because he has sat in on board meetings for the last three   years. 

Lenihan, the attorney, identified many of the same issues facing the   board. He said the first priority of the CAWCD board is the maintenance of the   existing infrastructure, but also believes Pima County needs to be assertive   about getting more water and needs more storage capacity. 

He said water from   the replenishment district definitely needs to be recharged where groundwater   pumping occurs and that surface water recharge could be improved. 

He also   agrees the board needs to seek additional supplies, though if it is too   successful, it eventually would mean expanding the CAP pipeline to carry more   water, a very expensive proposition. 

Lenihan said his background ­ he
   started as a certified public accountant, was president of a private water   company and handles land-use and real estate law ­ would help him negotiate   effectively and understand the needs of private sector and governments.   

Jacobs, a former administrator of Pima County Justice Courts and a current   Northwest Fire District board member, said he brings a different perspective   because he is not part of the "professional water community." 

Like Megdal,   he questioned the wisdom of aggressively pursuing more water supplies. He said   his focus would be on conservation and restoring the water table, but he did not   have specific proposals. 

"My interest is to put conservation of our water   supply first and to educate as many people as possible about what CAWCD does and   can do to conserve our water supply," he said. 

DID YOU KNOW 

The   Central Arizona Project is a large system of canals that sends Colorado River   water 336 miles from Lake Havasu City to Tucson. 

The system provides nearly   3 million acre-feet of water annually for farming and municipalities in the   Phoenix and Tucson regions. It also supplies 12 Indian tribes. 

Construction   of the project took 20 years and cost $4 billion. While construction began in   1973, planning and lobbying for the project began more than 50 years earlier.   

For more information on the Central Arizona Project, visit www.cap-az.com. 

Sources: 
CAP, Star   archives

     
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