11 May 2022

How will 1 million people get water in Arizona’s newest city?

Now that's A GREAT QUESTION in this arid place named Arizona - "We cannot allow others to call us, as Andrew Ross did in his 2011 book Bird on Fire, “the world’s least sustainable place 
So who do they turn to provide information: Grady Gammage and Mike Hutchinson - two people that have been the subject on many posts on this blog:
Looks like Gammage is changing his pitch. Here are some extracts
1
What is the appropriate density for cities in the desert? How will autonomous vehicles affect development patterns?  . . .
We are already doing a lot of these things. Besides moving on the drought contingency plan, the Arizona Department of Water Resources, Salt River Project and Central Arizona Project have been aggressively pursuing new water management techniques and the acquisition of additional resources. 
We cannot allow others to call us, as Andrew Ross did in his 2011 book Bird on Fire, “the world’s least sustainable place 
We have always marketed our climate. 
We just need to adjust the pitch. 
 
This is already happening with the increasing relocations of financial service and insurance business and call centers to Arizona . . . CAN WE FIND OUR SWAGGER?
Arizona has always used the power of government – collective action – to manage water supplies in a challenging and arid place. 
Our past was all about managing water to make this place possible. 
Now our future must be all about managing climate to make it sustainable. ???????????????????????????????????????
In that activity may we find quiet confidence, and maybe a bit of a swagger.
[Image credit: Grady Gammage Jr. outside Gammage Auditorium in Tempe on December 20, 2018. (Photo: Cheryl Evans/The Republic)
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PRIVATIZING WATER RIGHTS --
It's the most precious commodity here in the desert, and can be bought and sold
Story image for water rights arizona from Phoenix New Times
Phoenix New Times-Feb 28, 2019
Over the course of two decades, Vidler Water Company, where she is CEO, had spent nearly $100 million in Arizona on water, land, permits, ...
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Here's an Op-Ed Opinion piece published back in August 2014 in Arizona Republic
Who appointed me 'water czar?' Sure wasn't me
 
2 November 27, 2012
Thinking about water
by Jon Talton
> The bottom line is that sprawled, single-family house subdivision urban Arizona is not sustainable, much less one adding a million people or doubling in size or whatever the latest boosterish nonsense is peddled.
The business model of population growth won't work.
Even before the consequences of climate change came roaring at us, the United Nations warned of the destabilizing effects of water shortages in the 21st century. . . " 
 
3
“In honor of our 50th anniversary, we are recognizing individuals and organizations that prioritize sustainability for Arizona,”
said Lori Singleton, president and CEO at Arizona Forward.

“It takes a village to create change. We are so pleased to showcase the projects and people who are making a difference for our state.
For the past 50 years, Arizona Forward’s partners in the community have completed projects that achieve a balance between the built and natural environment – impacting the state’s physical, technical, social and aesthetic development.
In addition to the celebration of all projects submitted this year, awards will be given to projects that are outstanding demonstrations of environmental excellence.”

Let's turn to some extracts taken from an earlier post on this blog, featuring a different reporter, Gary Nelson. The next piece of the jig-saw puzzle was written about earlier in the summer.
Superstition Vistas: An EV vision on hold looks for new life              

 

By Robert Anglen | Arizona Republic

FLORENCE — A state land auction near some of the most lucrative residential real estate in the region opened Wednesday with lowest possible legal price and only four bidders.
When the gavel came down a little more than an hour later, two homebuilders had pushed the purchase price of the southeast Valley land to more than three times the appraised value of $68 million.
Texas-based D.R. Horton cast the winning bid of $245.5 million for the tract known as the Superstition Vistas

 

 

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