Key Points
Republican lawmakers say they don’t know how much groundwater Arizona has
The governor and Department of Water Resources disagree with that assertion
Water policy experts worry about recent attacks on ADWR and its data collection
How much groundwater does Arizona have? The answer you get could depend on who you ask.
Lawmakers, stakeholders and water advocates are beginning to squabble over how much groundwater remains in the state and are already unable to agree on how to replenish or protect it.
In recent months, Republican lawmakers and conservative groups have resisted claims from Gov. Katie Hobbs and the Arizona Department of Water Resources about the state’s groundwater supply. In December, three Republicans in the Legislature sent a letter to ADWR asking simply, “how much water do we have?”
In a press release sent in March after ADWR responded to the Legislature’s letter, Rep. Gail Griffin, R-Hereford, said the response was not comprehensive enough and argued that “lawmakers are not receiving a clear picture” of groundwater in rural basins. Griffin, who represents a largely rural district in the state, said the response was not comprehensive enough.
“What good is a water budget if we don’t know how much is in our bank account?” Griffin said in a statement released in March. A spokesperson for the Arizona House Republican caucus did not respond to a request for comment on Griffin’s …
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