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<br />003207 <br />we don't we arc just going to be in a hell of a fix 30 to 50 years <br /> <br />down the line. And it would be in my judgment, irresponsible to <br /> <br />rely, instead of solving this problem, to rely on being able to <br /> <br />bail ourselves out in the future by importing the Columbia, the <br /> <br />Missouri, desalted soa water or what have you. A very largo part <br /> <br />of my problem as director and the problem of my staff in the Arizona <br /> <br /> <br />Water Commission and agencies that preceded it was getting Arizonans <br /> <br />to change their philosophy. Arizonans have felt that they could go <br />ahead and mine the groundwater basins because the Central Arizona <br /> <br />Project would bail them out and if that wasn't enough, there would <br /> <br />be some place we could get the water and bring it in. Science is <br /> <br />marvelous, engineering is great and they knew there would be a <br /> <br />solution to the problem short of having to cut back what they were <br /> <br />doing. And 50 it has been a long struggle to convince the people <br />of this state and to convince the legislature that those sorts of <br /> <br />things were pie in the sky and might never happen and certainly <br />of <br />we couldn't jeopardize the. future/our state on that kind of thinking <br /> <br />and that kind of planning. The Legislature then had to plan our <br /> <br />fix with what may be our last major increment of new supply, the <br /> <br />Central Arizona Project, and I suspect its stronger then may be. <br /> <br />I suspect the CAP is or will be our last major increment of water <br /> <br />supply. <br /> <br />The June 12 Groundwater Management Act, established a new <br /> <br />Department of Water Resources at cabinet level built around the <br /> <br />staff of and the responsibilities of the old Arizona Water Commission. <br /> <br />I advised the Legislature before they passed the act that just <br />administering the act was going to cost at least $3 million a year, <br /> <br />that it would require an increase in our staff from roughly 70 <br /> <br />people before the act passed to at least 225. Now I'll get back <br /> <br />to tell you in a few minutes what they've done about that. <br /> <br />B-ll <br /> <br />;&_, :'~ <br />