Arizona State Senator T.J. Shope joined members of the Arizona Alliance for Golf to share important and timely updates regarding the Colorado River, groundwater, and solutions to meet our water challenges. Elected to the legislature in 2013, Shope has held a seat on a natural resources-related committee since entering public service. He’s now the chair of both the Senate Natural Resources Committee and the Arizona Golf Caucus.
Shope’s thoughtful, practical style and ability to bring people together to reach consensus is needed more now than ever, as Arizona enters one of the most consequential periods terms of water policy. With the failure of the Upper and Lower Basin states to reach a deal, the federal government may impose their own plan for the basin — and the proposals shared to date would create serious challenges for Arizona. As a junior member of the group, Arizona has already absorbed deep cuts to our allotment and produced significant water conservation results.
“We have 7.5 million people who reside in Arizona today,” Shope said. “And we use the same amount of water as we did 50-plus years ago when there were only a million and a half.”
Shope credited this fact to Arizona’s long history as an innovator – pioneering water conservation practices well before they were required.
“I recognize that I stand on the shoulders of giants who preceded me, who were very passionate about conservation in this state,” he said. “We have perfected things that our fellow basin states have only begun to adopt. We were doing some of these things for four or five decades. People in this room who are part of the industry have done a better job of conservation efforts than just about any other entity in the state of Arizona.”
Shope also mentions that some of conservation practices employed by the golf industry can serve as a guide for others. Furthermore, discussion moderator and AAG Executive Director, Katie Prendergast, cited Rhett Larson, ASU’s Richard Morrison Professor of Water Law at Arizona State University, who contends that eliminating golf in the basin states will not solve the water crisis.
Shope shared research underway at the University of Arizona’s College of Agriculture, Life & Environmental Sciences and its partnership with Yuma-area agricultural industry. He feels there much to be learned from academia as well as other entities and countries like Israel, which has made major advancements in water conservation out of necessity.
Back in Arizona, Shope is a vocal champion of the local tourism industry: “The golf industry it inextricably linked to tourism, and if you don’t believe that, just go to the baggage claim at Terminal 4 during the next month and you’ll see,” he said.
This discussion ended on a positive note by covering the five proposals put forward by the Water Infrastructure Finance Authority of Arizona (WIFA). Two of the five proposals are desalination projects, one involves emerging technology, and another taps one of the largest underground aquifers in the United States, which exists west of Phoenix, offering “decades’ worth” of water. Although Arizona is not in a position to foot the bill, Shope explained that the action and ideas proposed by WIFA might attract financial investments from the federal government for a Hoover Dam, Glen Canyon Dam-type project.
