Sustainable water management is one of the most challenging issues of our time, especially in the arid western US. Maximizing the benefits of water supplies requires careful measurement of availability and use. However, one important information gap is compounding this challenge: the lack of consistent consumptive water use data for irrigated agriculture, which accounts for the majority of water use in the western US. To date, access to this data has been limited and expensive, keeping it out of the hands of most water users and decision-makers who could benefit from its use.
Brown Bag: Two-part Webinar on Water Transfers in Arizona
Michael J. Pearce, Gammage & Burnham, PLC
Patrick Cunningham, Senior Advisor on Water Management Issues, HighGround Public Affairs
Jan 14 - 12:00pm to 1:15pm MST
Part 1. Transfer of Water Rights in Arizona (Pearce)
This presentation will review water transfers in Arizona, from the simple to the complex, with emphasis on agriculture to urban transfers and the unique issues associated with transferring mainstream Colorado River water.
Part 2. Colorado River Water Transfers – Let's Discuss (Cunningham)
This presentation will discuss points and counterpoints of rural water issues, then look at the efforts to transfer Colorado River water rights from farmlands along the river into Central Arizona for municipal uses. The advantages of such transfers and the difficult public policy issues will also be presented.
Michael J. (Mike) Pearce is a Partner at Gammage & Burnham, PLC. Since 1989, his professional career has focused exclusively on water rights, where he has assisted numerous cities, districts, mining companies, private land developers, and individuals in complicated water development, allocation, and transfer issues. Pearce received his Juris Doctor degree from the University of Arizona in 1981 and earned his undergraduate degree from the University of Michigan in 1978, both with distinction.
Patrick Cunningham brings 32 years of public sector experience to public affairs consulting at HighGround. He specializes in the natural resource and water policy arena. Cunningham was Deputy Director of the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality from 2003 through 2009 and worked for 12 years in the Arizona Attorney General’s office as Chief Counsel of the Environmental Enforcement Section and Criminal Division.
Webinar Attendance Information:
Attendees will be able to ask questions using the Zoom chat function.
To request an alternate format of this webinar for disability-related access, please contact us at wrrc@email.arizona.edu
Upcoming Events
May 5 12:00PM
Brown Bag
Brown Bag Webinar: OpenET – Filling One of the Biggest Data Gaps in Water Management
May 24 8:00AM
Special Event
The International Arid Lands Consortium Virtual Conference
To commemorate 30 years of collaboration on arid lands issues, the International Arid Lands Consortium (IALC) is hosting a three-day international conference on arid lands. A key goal of the conference is to underscore the value of the IALC mission