Tuesday, July 17, 2007

Wiederaenders: "Drought plays major part in pumping"

Tim figured out that the water in his well is related to rain, and less rain means less water underground. Very good!

Parting shot: The 20-30-year drought idea is near the optimistic end of the projections, Tim.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Check out your link to his column. He added something online at the end that is not in the paper. He's right, the debate is mostly about pumping and not wells. - Wayne

Steven Ayres said...

Exempt wells are indeed part of the problem, but a minor part, in the 14% range, according to the report covered on A1 today. The water groups have been paying appropriate attention to that, and a new state law sponsored by Rep Mason allows counties to adopt AMA rules, which will help control the well problem here if the Queen Bee can get out of the way.

The big problem will be new pumping by three rapidly growing cities, and we as voters have a lot more opportunity for significant effect by focusing on that.

TWIEDS said...

His view on this is "simplistic," as he says. Problem remains that not that many people GET IT!!! The cities are moving ahead with pumping, like they're trying to get their rights grandfathered, and few residents have the numbers Tim does. A huge gap in understanding exists between what's happening now, like for Tim, and what could happen with the cities and the drought.

Anonymous said...

Why not take action by contacting the Center for Biological Diversity, CWAG, Verde Watershed Association, Sierra Club or others? Now is the time to start to GET IT.

Steven Ayres said...

Welcome Joanne!

Anonymous said...

More than that has to happen, Joanne. Start electing representatives who have a healthy view of water use so that their views are better considered in the political discourse. Many politicians and some talented water experts are, none-the-less, supporting the agenda of developers and spending as much time trying to confuse our hydrological issues as folks like us spend trying to educate people to the real issues.

The time to start thinking in terms of sustainability is now if not sooner!

Anonymous said...

Yes, long-term resource management from decision makers who care about sustainability....hmmm. It could happen!