Connect with us

Arizona

Arizona restricts Phoenix home construction amid water shortage

Published

on

Arizona restricts Phoenix home construction amid water shortage


June 1 (Reuters) – The state of Arizona on Thursday restricted future home-building in the Phoenix area due to a lack of groundwater, based on projections showing that wells will run dry under existing conditions.

The action by the Arizona Department of Water Resources stands to slow population growth for the Phoenix Active Management Area, home to 4.6 million people and one of the most rapidly expanding areas of the United States.

The state’s recently concluded analysis projected a water shortfall of 4.86 million acre feet (6 billion cubic meters) in the Phoenix area over the next 100 years.

In response, the state said it will deny new certificates of Assured Water Supply, which enable home construction.

Advertisement

Arizona has imposed such restrictions on other areas, and not all of greater Phoenix requires a certificate, but experts said the measure was certain to slow home-building in an area representing over half the state’s population.

“It’s a reality check. We need to have the water supplies in order to grow,” said Sharon Megdal, director of the University of Arizona’s Water Resources Research Center.

The Department of Water Resources said developers would need to find other sources to build.

Those sources could include officially designated entities that have excess water to sell, or farmers or Native American tribes with water rights, but all are facing short supplies given overuse and a historic drought this century.

Recycled water or desalinated brackish groundwater could also increase future supplies, Megdal said.

Advertisement

A home builders trade association said theirs is the only industry required to meet 100 years of demand for groundwater use, even though new homes have doubled their water efficiency in recent years and already restock the groundwater they consume through the Central Arizona Groundwater Replenishment District.

“We have struggled with the fact that we’re the only one that ultimately is stopped when groundwater issues arise,” said Spencer Kamps, vice president of the Home Builders Association of Central Arizona.

Arizona’s other main water source, the Colorado River, is also under strain.

Arizona along with partner states in the Colorado River Compact last week agreed to reduce their intake from the river by 13% over the next three years as part of a seven-state plan to save a river that provides drinking water for 40 million people, including Phoenix.

Reporting by Daniel Trotta; Editing by Richard Chang and Kim Coghill

Advertisement

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Daniel Trotta

Thomson Reuters

Daniel Trotta is a U.S. National Affairs correspondent, covering water/fire/drought, race, guns, LGBTQ+ issues and breaking news in America. Previously based in New York, and now in California, Trotta has covered major U.S. news stories such as the killing of Trayvon Martin, the mass shooting of 20 first-graders at Sandy Hook Elementary School, and natural disasters including Superstorm Sandy. In 2017 he was awarded the NLGJA award for excellence in transgender coverage. He was previously posted in Cuba, Spain, Mexico and Nicaragua, covering top world stories such as the normalization of Cuban-U.S. relations and the Madrid train bombing by Islamist radicals.



Source link

Advertisement
Continue Reading
Advertisement
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Arizona

Arizona lawmaker says she plans to have an abortion after learning her pregnancy isn't viable

Published

on

Arizona lawmaker says she plans to have an abortion after learning her pregnancy isn't viable


PHOENIX — An Arizona lawmaker announced on the state Senate floor Monday that she plans to have an abortion after learning that her pregnancy is not viable.

State Sen. Eva Burch, a registered nurse known for her reproductive rights activism, was surrounded by fellow Democratic senators as she made the announcement, The Arizona Republic reported.

Burch said that she found out a few weeks ago that “against all odds,” she was pregnant. The mother of two living children from west Mesa who is running for reelection said she has had “a rough journey” with fertility. She experienced her first miscarriage 13 years ago, was pregnant many times and terminated a nonviable pregnancy as she campaigned for her senate seat two years ago, she said.

Now, Burch said that her current pregnancy is not progressing and not viable and she has made an appointment to terminate.

Advertisement

“I don’t think people should have to justify their abortions,” Burch said. “But I’m choosing to talk about why I made this decision because I want us to be able to have meaningful conversations about the reality of how the work that we do in this body impacts people in the real world.”

Burch said the state’s laws have “interfered” with her decision. Arizona law required an “invasive” transvaginal ultrasound that her doctor didn’t order and she was then read “factually false” information required by the law about alternatives, she said.

“I’m a perfect example of why this relationship should be between patients and providers,” not state lawmakers, Burch said. “My experiences in this space both as a provider and as a patient have led me to believe that this legislature has failed the people of Arizona.”

Burch called on the legislature to pass laws that make sure every Arizonan has the opportunity to make decisions that are right for them. She also said she hopes voters have a chance to weigh in on abortion on the November ballot.

A signature drive is underway to add a constitutional right to abortion in Arizona. Under the measure, the state would not be able to ban abortion until the fetus is viable, which is around 28 weeks, with later abortions allowed to protect a woman’s physical or mental health. Supporters must gather nearly 384,000 valid signatures by July 4. Current law bans abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy.

Advertisement



Source link

Continue Reading

Arizona

Arizona election officials push forward prep for 2024 count, despite constant threats

Published

on

Arizona election officials push forward prep for 2024 count, despite constant threats


As election season gets underway, officials in a key battleground state said they are prepared to handle the task of counting and certifying ballots despite a rise in threats.

Nearly four years ago, the staff at the Maricopa County Tabulation and Election Center in Phoenix was hounded by former President Donald Trump’s supporters, who pushed his false claims that votes in his favor were not counted.

Maricopa County election officials and workers have been harassed and threatened over those false claims long after the election was certified, according to Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer.

Supporters of President Donald Trump gather to protest the election results at the Maricopa County Elections Department office, Nov. 6, 2020, in Phoenix.

Advertisement

Courtney Pedroza/Getty Images

“This isn’t just a normal political lie,” he told ABC News. “This is a lie that then leads to targeting of people.”

Richer, a Republican who has been in his position since 2021, said he has taken steps to ensure that his office completes the certification process properly and transparently.

Richer has been offering public tours of his facility and posting live streams of many of the processes that take place there — from tabulating votes from voting machines to hand-checking the thousands of mail-in ballots that come in every election.

PHOTO: Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer shows off the equipment at the Maricopa County Tabulation and Election Center in Phoenix.

Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer shows off the equipment at the Maricopa County Tabulation and Election Center in Phoenix.

ABC News

Advertisement

During a tour of the facility with ABC News, Richer showed how the ballot processing team takes on counting those mail-in ballots and how every aspect is thoroughly vetted.

“These are teams of different parties, so by the lanyard that they’re wearing, either Republican or Democrat — or yellow is an Independent,” he said of the ballot workers.

Richer said “millions of dollars” have been added since 2020 to help improve his office. But despite the transparency and extra resources, Richer said the police have made arrests against people who have threatened him and his staff.

“We’re talking about the stuff like, ‘we are coming to hang you, we are coming to shoot you,’” he explained.

Richer is facing a reelection challenge from State Rep. Justin Heap (R), who has been backed by state lawmakers who have also denied the outcome of the 2020 election. Heap did not respond to ABC News for comment.

Advertisement

When asked by ABC News about the large number of election denial claims coming from his own party, Richer said, “We’re better than the drivel that you might see on the 27th comment on a blog post.”

PHOTO: Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer speaks with ABC News' Averi Harper.

Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer speaks with ABC News’ Averi Harper.

ABC News

“But some of that has been elevated by people who are in positions of power and words matter, and words matter from these people,” he added.

Those words have already affected some Maricopa election officials’ future.

Maricopa County Supervisor Clint Hickman said he won’t seek reelection this year following threats against him and his family since 2020. He is one of two Maricopa election officials who declined to run for reelection.

Advertisement

“Your own party is shoving knives in your back when you walk out the door. And it’s very difficult. It’s been very difficult to deal with for myself [and] my colleagues,” Hickman, a Republican, told ABC News.

Hickman said he received several death threats and at one point 100 people came to his house while he, his wife and children were home. Two sheriff’s deputies were stationed outside to guard his home.

PHOTO: Maricopa County Supervisor Clint Hickman speaks with ABC News.

Maricopa County Supervisor Clint Hickman speaks with ABC News.

ABC News

“It’s horrible to talk to citizens and say, ‘Hey, can you come out and help run an election? Can you observe the election?’ I don’t want any part of that because of bad behavior, because of criticism,” Hickman said. “It’s ridiculously horrible. If you can’t get the best, expect the worst.”

Richer said that despite the threats, he is confident he and his team will conduct their duties this November.

Advertisement
PHOTO: Election ballots are sorted at the Maricopa County Tabulation and Election Center in Phoenix.

Election ballots are sorted at the Maricopa County Tabulation and Election Center in Phoenix.

ABC News

“The board is committed. Their side of the operation is committed. Everyone understands the game plan. Arizonans are going to be able to participate. Their votes are going to count. It’s going to be valid. It’s going to be bipartisan. It’s going to be fair, and it’s going to be certified eventually,” he said.



Source link

Continue Reading

Arizona

SpaceX satellite launch from California seen across Arizona

Published

on

SpaceX satellite launch from California seen across Arizona


PHOENIX (3TV/CBS 5) — An early evening, SpaceX rocket lift-off from Vandenberg Space Force Base in Southern California lit up our twilight skies and our phone lines here at Arizona’s Family.

Gorgeous shot over Picket Post Mountain in Superior!(Melissa Rabago)

The Falcon 9 booster launched 22 Starlink satellites to low-Earth orbit around 7:30 p.m. Phone calls, emails and pictures started pouring into the newsroom after that as the rocket took an unusually low trajectory as it rocketed into space.

According to SpaceX, this is the 10th flight for the first stage booster supporting this mission, which previously launched SDA-0A, SARah-2, and seven Starlink missions.

From social media posts, the booster successfully landed on the “Of Course I Still Love You” droneship, which was stationed in the Pacific Ocean.

Advertisement

If you would like to share any pictures or video of your views of the rocket, you can do so here.

See a spelling or grammatical error in our story? Please click here to report it.

Do you have a photo or video of a breaking news story? Send it to us here with a brief description.



Source link

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Trending