Shawn Bradford, EPCOR Senior Vice President of Regulated Water USA
Priceless for Arizona’s Economic Future
Arizona’s dry, arid desert faces ongoing drought conditions and has made headlines as one of the world’s hottest places. Despite these challenges, Arizona is one of the fastest-growing states by population growth and is experiencing unprecedented economic growth, touting record investments from high-tech industries and the creation of high-quality jobs.
Arizona’s growth and investment clearly indicates its appeal to the business community, despite the water concerns. This attraction can be partly attributed to the state’s efforts to provide water certainty. Arizona has a long-standing reputation of effectively managing its water resources, proactively making smart water decisions and sustainable investments to ensure there are sufficient, secure and sustainable water supplies for the future.
Our state continues to plan for future growth and look toward solutions that will continue to support the state’s economic activity for decades to come. One such recent decision to strengthen Arizona’s water future can be found in the newly passed legislation that enables regulated utilities, such as EPCOR, access to water from the Harquahala Basin. This game-changing policy is a significant win for unlocking responsible growth in communities outside of the Phoenix metro region, like Queen Creek and Buckeye.
This legislation also encourages utilities like ours to secure water for the state’s growing needs. Private utilities play a significant role in Arizona’s water security as we are responsible for providing water and wastewater services to nearly 1 in 4 residents across the state.
While water policy is inherently complex, the Harquahala concept here is simple: the new bill allows non-municipal water providers to tap into a water resource that can assure more than 100-years of water supply to communities outside of the Phoenix Metro Region. However, getting the water from where it is plentiful and delivering it where it is needed, is the other half of the challenge. This is where water conveyance experience and expertise are critical.
Water conveyance from Harquahala to other communities can be achieved via canals or pipelines. This requires substantial investment, planning, expertise, and partnerships – areas where EPCOR excels. We’ve demonstrated this through major projects in Texas like the 143-mile Vista Ridge Pipeline in San Antonio and the 53-mile 130 Pipeline to Austin. Currently, we’re developing pipelines for Samsung’s $17 billion semiconductor plant in Taylor, Texas.
To that end, our collective timely and thoughtful investment into innovative water infrastructure has brought a new level of confidence and water assurance to the region, helping to contribute to the overall success of the economy by creating new jobs, services and supporting sustainable growth for today and into the future.
As Arizona continues to face water challenges, the economic value of water security combined with smart, efficient use of water resources, is becoming increasingly important. To keep pace with the region’s extraordinary economic and population growth – and build water resilience – we must invest in advanced technologies, infrastructure, develop smart water policies, and uncover innovative ways to tap into our limited water resources while also being mindful of reusing and replenishing the water ecosystem.
Water assurance plays a fundamental role in high-growth economies. The Harquahala Basin presents a priceless opportunity that will support a sustainable water future for Arizona, and if managed responsibly, unlocks new growth potential, building healthy communities and a thriving economy.