Prescott AZ (October 26, 2021) – We’re not going to make it. Attaining a balance between groundwater withdrawal and replenishment, known as “safe yield,” in the Prescott Active Management Area by 2025 has been a goal of the Arizona Groundwater Management Act since the perils of groundwater overuse were officially recognized in 1980. But achieving the 2025 target date is, by all scientific accounts, impossible. Kathleen Ferris, a consultant with the Kyl Center for Water Policy at Arizona State University, will explain how loopholes in Arizona water law endanger the region’s aquifer and also undermine the very notion of safe yield at a Zoom webinar presented by the Citizens Water Advocacy Group (CWAG) on Friday, Nov. 12, from 3 p.m. – 5 p.m. The Zoom link is posted in the “Next Meeting” section at www.cwagaz.org .
Ferris, who is also a Senior Research Fellow at the Morrison Institute for Public Policy at Arizona State University, will reference her May 2021 report for the Kyl Center, co-authored by Kyl Center Director Sarah Porter, entitled “The Myth of Safe Yield: Pursuing the Goal of Safe Yield Isn’t Saving our Groundwater.” Discussion points will include the ambiguities in safe yield legislation, Arizona water laws that allow groundwater to be pumped at an unsustainable rate, insufficient conservation efforts that haven’t offset increasing water demands, and the “aridification” of the region that is further impacting the area’s water supply. Ferris will also explain specific challenges in the Quad-City area, such as the region’s lack of access to water supplies other than groundwater.
Attaining safe yield is a responsibility of the region, not the Arizona Department of Water Resources. As of now, there are no regional plans to address safe yield, and no penalties for not achieving it.
Kathleen Ferris is a lawyer in private practice with over four decades experience in water management. In 1977 she was appointed Executive Director of the Arizona Groundwater Management Study Commission and has served as Director of the Arizona Department of Water Resources and Executive Director of the Arizona Municipal Water Users Association. In 2015, she co-produced the documentary, “Groundwater — To Enact a Law for the Common Good.”
CWAG is a local citizens group advocating for a secure water future for Prescott and central Yavapai County and for the protection of the upper Verde River. For more information, visit www.cwagaz.org, or email info@cwagaz.org .
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One of the major failings of the Prescott AMA’s “safe yield” management goal is that it doesn’t take natural discharge (rivers and springs) into account in its calculation of basin discharge and it does almost nothing to preserve the flows of the Verde River. Active Management Areas can create their own management goals to some extent, and future AMAs in Arizona should always have protection of springs and rivers as one of their major goals. The Verde River Institute thanks Kathy Ferris and CWAG for providing this valuable information!