Poll: Arizona voters rank water supply above immigration, inflation
Caitlin Sievers
(Arizona Mirror) As the state faces the possibility of big cuts to its share of Colorado River water, a new poll shows that protecting the water supply is a top issue for likely Arizona voters across the political spectrum.
A poll commissioned by Audubon Southwest found that, when voters were asked to rank their top three priorities for the Arizona legislature, water supply and protecting the Colorado River was the No. 1 answer at 50%. Behind it were inflation and cost of living at 47% and Illegal immigration and border security at almost 30%.
The poll was conducted April 23-25 by the private conservative polling company Cygnal, and includes 600 people with a margin of error of +/- 4 percentage points. The company, which has been recognized for its accuracy, initially polled 1,100 respondents and whittled down the number to match the demographics of the Arizona electorate.
“This issue has stuck out above the rest in a way that we haven’t seen in a long time,” Chris Lane, pollster for Cygnal, told reporters during a Tuesday press call.
Arizona gets about 35% of its water from the Colorado River, but it shares the water supply with six other states, Native American tribes and Mexico.
“Failure to stabilize the Colorado River system risks our state’s water security and continued economic prosperity,” Warren Tenney, executive director of the Arizona Municipal Water Users Association, said in a statement. “This poll highlights the importance of Arizona investing in conservation measures, strengthening the reliability of our existing water supplies, and pursuing new water supplies to ensure our communities and state thrive for generations.”
The Lower Basin states — Arizona, Nevada and California — and the Upper Basin states — Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming — have been negotiating an updated water usage agreement for more than two years, but have repeatedly blown past deadlines to come to a consensus.
The existing usage agreement expires in October, and Arizona would face outsized cuts if any of the proposed plans from the federal government are implemented. With the Southwest already dealing with a decades-long drought due to climate change, the situation is even worse this year because of record-low snow pack in the Rocky Mountains, runoff from which provides the majority of Colorado’s water supply.
The Lower Basin states have proposed a bridge agreement to give the states more time to work out a permanent plan. Through the bridge agreement, the Lower Basin states would agree to reduce their Colorado River use by at least 3.2 million acre feet through 2028. Those states already deal with mandatory annual reductions from the federal government, including 760,000 acre-feet for Arizona. The bridge plan would add another 700,000 acre feet of conservation across the Lower Basin states.
An acre-foot of water represents enough to flood an acre of land to a depth of one foot, or about 325,851 gallons.
The states are awaiting federal approval for the plan.
In her proposed state budget plan, Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs included $30 million for a new Colorado River Protection Fund, but a proposal from Republicans who control the Arizona legislature lacked that funding. It’s a tough budget year, with Republicans proposing 5% cuts to most state agencies to pay for tax cuts. Hobbs and legislative Republicans have until the June 30 deadline to create a state budget that they can all get behind.
Unlike many other issues, where top issues for Republicans and Democrats don’t align, concern for Arizona’s water supply is bipartisan.
“This is not a partisan issue,” Lane said. “There is no divide here. There is universal agreement amongst Arizona general election voters that this is a huge priority.”
When asked how concerned they were about Arizona’s long term water supply, 91.6% said they were concerned, with only 6.2% saying they were not concerned.
Hobbs’s proposal would help to keep water in Lake Mead, an important reservoir upriver, would pay users to voluntarily cut back on their water use and invest in projects to improve the health of rivers and forests.
Poll respondents overwhelmingly supported the idea of such a fund, at 75%, with 18% neutral or undecided and only 7% in opposition.
Nearly 90% said it was somewhat important, very important or extremely important for state legislators to make water security and addressing Colorado River water scarcity a priority in the current legislative session. Only 21% of respondents said water scarcity was important but not the top issue for state lawmakers.
After Hobbs vetoed their proposed budget, legislative Republicans opted to break for the remainder of May, with plans to return June 1, giving them 30 days to hammer out a budget deal.
“The Colorado River is a lifeline for Arizona agriculture,” Stephanie Knight-Dubien, executive director of the Agribusiness & Water Council of Arizona, said in a statement. “Arizona farmers and ranchers are working hard to demonstrate that we can continue to produce a substantial portion of the nation’s overall food supply with water-saving technologies. But Arizona farmers and ranchers need additional resources to ensure that our rural communities continue to thrive in the face of drought and diminished Colorado River water supplies.”