When residents of the Rio Verde Foothills learned they would lose access to a key water supply, distrust of Big Government hampered their search for a solution.
A hidden crisis : Millions of groundwater wells are at risk of running dry, scientists find Ian James, Arizona Republic
When a well runs dry, people who rely on the water often have no warning. As the water table dips lower, the pump will begin to suck air and faucets will sputter as water stops flowing.
The consequences of years of gradual declines in groundwater suddenly become visible, leaving people struggling with the costs of drilling a deeper well or finding water from another source.
New research shows that in dozens of countries around the world, from the United States to India, wells are increasingly at risk. With even moderate declines in groundwater levels, researchers have found, millions of wells could run dry.
Attempts to protect Arizona s groundwater and rivers meet legislative resistance Ian James, Arizona Republic
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The Arizona Legislature has taken up a range of water-related measures this year, but some bills that would strengthen the state’s water rules to protect declining groundwater and desert streams have run into opposition and have failed to move forward.
Republican and Democratic legislators introduced several bills that would establish some groundwater rules in unregulated rural areas where there are no limits on pumping and where water levels are dropping.
Those bills, which were opposed by the agriculture industry and key Republican leaders in the Legislature, haven’t been heard. Similar measures died in the Legislature last year.