Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Water issues at town hall meeting...

There is a town hall style meeting tonight in the Mohave County Library at 3269 N. Burbank St.

Subject matter pertains to the House Bill 2142 read all about it.

I've been informed that Mohave County Supervisor Buster Johnson will be in attendance and perhaps speaking on this issue, along with him will be the Mayor of Kingman John Salem.

Sometimes these politicized water issues get very complex. That is how I see the issue, even after hearing people from both sides weigh in. So I'm not advocating at all, and if it wasn't for 'Hockey Night in Havasu' I'd be sure to be there tonight to hopefully gain a bit more knowledge... but since you are not playing hockey tonight you have no excuse to miss this town hall. So be there.

Here's a couple of more links and shares...

Water bill will get a close look at meeting

When the Mohave County Water Authority was created in 1996, it was tasked with selling the rights to Kingman's Colorado River allocation. Only 15,000 acre-feet were made available for municipal and consumer use, however, with the remaining 3,500 acre-feet set aside.

That requirement came following a decision by the Department of Interior that specified the 3,500 acre-feet could only be made available on a short-term basis. But the department later changed its stance on that decision, allowing the water to be used for longer-term projects, and freeing the legislature to consider HB 2142.

If signed into law, HB 2142 would allow the water authority to sell the rights for the 3,500 acre-feet to Bullhead City or Lake Havasu City, which could then allocate the water for new residential, commercial or industrial use. Kingman would receive 90 percent of the sale revenues to develop of new local water sources.


And this from Ric Swats...

River cities got the gold mine, Kingman got the shaft in 1996 water deal - will history repeat iteself?

The people of the City of Kingman were ripped off for millions of dollars when the city sold its initial 15,000 acre feet of Municipal-use water rights through the Mohave County Water Authority.

Now city leaders are licking their chops over the prospect of potentially taking in as much as $3.5 million they can use for pet projects like Kingman Crossing.

If HB 2142 passes, reclassifying the remaining 3,500 acre feet of water in Kingman’s allotment from industrial use only to municipal use, the city will make another huge mistake by letting the Mohave County Water Authority sell it at bargain basement prices.

The slurry pipeline from Mohave Generating is no longer used and extends to Golden Valley near the I-40 industrial corridor. It could send industrial water to the new generating stations and save 3,500 acre feet of groundwater in Golden Valley. Or it could supply the WalMart distribution center that is expected to be built. Or it could easily satisfy the 500 acre foot per year demand of the prison.


Again, I'm not weighing in on this, just passing along some information that may or may not lead you to want to find out more. Water issues are very important here in this desert... and obviously very political.

Read both linked articles and the House Bill. Be informed.

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