Water Issues

In the next several years, Arizona will confront serious challenges with regard to our state’s water supply. In response to the federal government’s decision to lower the arsenic standards for water, private and municipal water companies must retool their systems to meet those more stringent standards. Many of them will be asking the Corporation Commission for permission to raise rates in order to pay for these retrofits.

As a result, my colleagues and I are looking for ways to head off this financial water crisis before it hits. We have sent a letter to the state’s Congressional delegation and the White House asking for their help in locating funds to aid small private water companies in making the switch to the new arsenic standards. We are also supporting a bill in the Legislature that would establish a study committee to find ways to address the arsenic issue.