TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — It’s no exaggeration to say water is life but even in the desert we may take it for granted. University of Arizona is a leader in water research.It has been hosting a conference this week where scientists are concentrating on making sure we have water far into the future. Governor Katie Hobbs spoke to the conference Wednesday morning.
This year’s conference is dedicated to Professor Thomas Meixner. An expelled graduate student is charged with shooting and killing Meixner in the office he held as department head of Hydrology and Atmospheric Sciences.
Governor Hobbs talked about the challenge of negotiating with other states to preserve Arizona’s share of water from the Colorado River.
She says Arizona will continue to have the country’s most aggressive water supply program to assure enough water for more people and more industry in the future.
“No other state has 100 year assured water supply. So when we released a report that says modeling shows that this area is short, by 4%. That means in 96 years, we'll run out of water but we have time to fix that.”
Sharon B. Megdal leads UA’s Water Resources Center. She says managing water is one of the biggest issues for Arizona.
“You know we all use water. So it's really not too much to ask everybody to pay attention to it. The other thing is, is that sometimes in the current environment, people complain about the decisions being made by the decision makers. And what I like to say is that we're all decision maker influencers, they should be responding to what we look for them to do.“
The Governor has been in conflict with Republican lawmakers over the best way to manage Arizona’s water. But she says overall Arizona is managing its water in a way that should ensure enough water for our state to grow in the future.
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Craig Smith is a reporter for KGUN 9. With more than 40 years of reporting in cities like Tampa, Houston and Austin, Craig has covered more than 40 Space Shuttle launches and covered historic hurricanes like Katrina, Ivan, Andrew and Hugo. Share your story ideas and important issues with Craig by emailing craig.smith@kgun9.com or by connecting on Facebook and Twitter.
