A water policy center still in its infancy is trying to tackle one of the state’s largest outstanding water rights issues.

The Kyl Center for Water Policy opened last November at Arizona State University’s Morrison Institute for Public Policy. Since Sarah Porter was hired as director in January, she and her team have set out to resolve the long-standing issue of determining the nature, extent and relative priority of water rights in Arizona. The process is known as general stream adjudication.

For decades, water users – from farmers to cities to Salt River Project and the Central Arizona Project – have been going to court over water rights in the Gila River and Little Colorado River watersheds to determine who gets allocated how much water.

Maricopa County Superior Court acknowledges the need to complete the general stream adjudications because “priority (to water) is important in Arizona where times of drought or water scarcity can occur.”

The Kyl Center has been holding stakeholder meetings, bringing together nearly 30 lawyers and experts to decide on a direction. The litigation involves thousands of parties and tens of thousands of claims to water, Porter said. Once the cases are completed, the state will be able to better plan for water use, she said.

“It’s hard for people to appreciate how important the general stream adjudication is,” she said.

The group is likely to come up with a proposed resolution next spring. Then they can take the proposal to the Legislature and courts to try to revise state statutes and settle the lawsuits, Porter said.

The center is “uniquely positioned” to bring the parties to the table for negotiations, she said.

“I don’t know if any other organization could do this. … People see that the Kyl Center could be a trusted resource,” Porter said.

Dave Roberts, senior director of water resources for SRP, said the utility’s work with the Kyl Center so far has revolved around the general stream adjudications.

The Kyl Center has “worked hard to bring together a coalition of major claimants to begin formulating plans to address these water rights claims. Much more work remains to be done, but we have made good progress,” Roberts said.

A major piece of the puzzle involves removing provisions in Arizona’s surface water code that were previously ruled unconstitutional to “clean up the statutes,” he said.

Ted Cooke, general manager of the CAP, said it can be tough for newcomers to insert themselves in the water world because of its complexity. But he said there’s always room for more people, and the Kyl Center should focus on the niche it can fill.

The center should “concentrate on their strengths and their main initiative that they’re perusing (general stream adjudication) … and use that as a collaborative path for others to come and help them, and that relationship can be reciprocated,” Cooke said.

BRINGING LEADERS TOGETHER
Arizona lacks strong water leadership from elected officials like it has had in the past, possibly because the state planned well, banked water and instituted a groundwater code early, Porter said.

The Kyl Center is putting together a “water leaders roundtable” group that will meet regularly to have in-depth discussions on water issues, she said. So far, the center has gotten interest from 30-to-40 politicians at all levels of government statewide, from all political parties, Porter said.

“We want (the leaders’ group) really to reflect the state. … There’s been quite a bit of interest,” she said.

In addition, the Kyl Center will be holding community meetings throughout the state in the spring, led by the water leaders group, to address a desire by the general public to understand more about water in Arizona, Porter said.

Talking about water can be tough – California’s drought and cutbacks have made some people in Arizona skittish. The first question on everyone’s minds is if a Colorado River shortage would affect them, and Porter said she has to first address that question with people before moving onto anything else.

But many communities are trying hard to address water by planning better, conserving or just trying to better understand it, she said. The state needs to find a way to be realistic about water management without discouraging economic growth while still facing up to water scarcity concerns, Porter said.

“We have to figure out a way to talk about water that’s comfortable for everyone,” she said.