“Shameful waste of time”- Sundareshan responds to continued Republican obstruction on meaningful water policy in Arizona

Arizona State Senate 

1700 W. Washington St. 

Phoenix, AZ 85007 

Press Release

PHOENIX – Following today’s vote on Republican-backed water measures, SB1116 and SB1134, Senate Democratic Leader Priya Sundareshan (LD18) released the following statement: 

“Arizonans continue to call on the legislature to take meaningful steps to address our state’s dwindling water resources – but Republicans seem unrelenting in their desire to ignore those calls. 

The shameful waste of time we have seen from the majority party puts Arizonans in an increasingly dangerous position. Today, rather than move forward policy ideas that protect rural groundwater with bipartisan support, or strengthen water supplies for growth in our urban areas, Senate Republicans pushed forward SB1116 and SB1134, prioritizing private developer profits over the best interest of the state.  

SB1116 is an emergency measure that requires the Arizona Department of Water Resources (ADWR) Director to provide a written response to an alternative groundwater model submittal within 60 days of receipt. SB1134 establishes statutory licensing timeframes for ADWR determinations for a new or modified certificate, designation or analysis of an Assured Water Supply. 

The women and men who work at ADWR are hardworking analysts and scientists who are pulled in a lot of directions.  The accelerated reviews required in both proposals will impose a new demand on their time when they could be doing better things. More importantly, this legislation calls into question the work of ADWR staff, which is not only unproductive but, in my experience, inaccurate. 

In both cases here, Republicans chose to prioritize the wishes of developers over the very critical review process designed to protect our water resources. They lodge attacks on the expertise of our agency scientists and staff when they are already severely under-resourced. And these bills come at the same time that developers are suing the Department of Water Resources because they would rather ignore the looming water shortages on our horizon so they can keep profiting while leaving homeowners holding the bag when the water runs out.  

I will continue to vote NO on each water policy proposal that does not meet the gravity of this moment in our state because our collective water future demands it.”  

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