ARIZONA STATE LEGISLATURE

AD HOC COMMITTEE ON ENERGY AND WATER DEVELOPMENT

Minutes of the Meeting

Monday, November 16, 2009

8:30 a.m., Senate Hearing Room 1

Members Present:

Senator Al Melvin, CoChair	Representative David Gowan, CoChair
Senator Amanda Aguirre	Representative Russ Jones
Senator Thayer Verschoor	Representative Franklin Pratt

Members Excused:

Senator Barbara Leff

Representative Robert Meza

Staff:

Garth Kamp, Senate Commerce and Economic Development Research Analyst

Tony DeMarco, Senate Natural Resources, Infrastructure & Public Debt Research Analyst

Rene Guillen, House Water and Energy Research Analyst

Chairman Melvin called the meeting to order at 9:01 a.m. and discussed the order of the meeting.

Water in Arizona: Current and Future Sources

Herb Guenther, Arizona Department of Water Resources (ADWR), distributed “Ad Hoc Committee on Energy and Water Development” (Attachment A).  He explained the following points:

· Arizona’s water supply

· Consumption

· Salt River Project reservoirs

· Water rights in Arizona

· Water management

· Current groundwater policy

· Current Arizona water issues

· Adjudicated claims

· Tribal water rights

· Augmentation

· Solar power and renewable energy

Tom McCann, Central Arizona Water Conservation District, distributed “Central Arizona Project” (Attachment B) and discussed the following points:

· Current water supply

· Current users

· Growing demand

· Conservation and reuse factor

· Projected outlook

Steve Olson, Executive Director, Arizona Municipal Water Users Association (AMWUA), distributed “Arizona Municipal Water Users Association” (Attachment C) and discussed the following issues:

· Diverse water resources

· AMWUA member water use

· Underground water storage

· Groundwater management

· Improved water efficiency

· Plans for the future

Desalination

Jennifer McCloskey, Area Manager, U.S. Department of Interior, Bureau of Reclamation, distributed “Pilot Run of the Yuma Desalting Plant and Water Treatment Research” (Attachment D) and discussed the following points:

· Overview of reclamation

· State of the drought

· History of the Yuma Desalting Plant

· Plans for the Pilot Run operation

· Multi-entity research project

· New water supply

· Santa Clara Wetland

· Characteristics of the Proposed Pilot Run

· Pilot Run Consultations with Mexico

· Water Quality Improvement Center

· Reclamation and Municipal Utilities Cooperative Research and Development Agreements

Water in Arizona: Current and Future Sources

Warren Tenney, Southern Arizona Water Users Association (SAWUA), distributed “Southern Arizona Water Users Association” (Attachment E) and discussed the following points:

· Water trends in the Tucson Active Management Area

· Additional water resources needed

· Goals of SAWUA

Ron Doba, Program Manager, Northern Arizona Municipal Water Users Association (NAMWUA), distributed “NAMWUA” (Attachment F) and discussed the following points:

· NAMWUA; reason for and duties

· Growth and drought

· Conservation

· Planning and cooperation required for water supplies

· Statewide approach needed for long term water supplies

Desalination

Dr. James Baygents, College of Engineering, University of Arizona, distributed “Arizona Water: Quantity and Quality Challenges” (Attachment G) and discussed the following points:

· Chandler water quantity challenged

· Tucson water quality challenged

· Maricopa County water quantity and quality challenged

· Tucson Active Management Area

· Salinity buildup

Dr. Wendell Ela, College of Engineering, University of Arizona, explained the following points:

· Phoenix Active Management Area  

· Annual water budget

· Colorado River Compact & treaty allocations

· Colorado river flows

· Arizona reservoir levels

· Possible future water sources

· Relationship between water and energy

· Inland Desalination Engineering Laboratory (IDEL)

· Ongoing and planned studies

· IDEL research foci

Peter Fox, Professor of Department of Civil, Environmental and Sustainable Engineering, Arizona State University, distributed “Desalination Research at Arizona State University” (Attachment H) and discussed the following points:

· Developed Thermal Technology – Dewvaporation

· Solar power and solar gradient ponds

· Management research

· Treatment strategies

· Precipitation/Crystalization

· Western Canal Water Treatment Plant

· Salt prevention

· Palo Verde Nuclear Power Plant

Tom McCann, Central Arizona Water Conservation District, distributed “Desalination Opportunities – CAP” (Attachment I) and answered questions posed by the Committee.

Senator Melvin stated that the next meeting will be on Monday, November 30, 2009 at 9:00 a.m.

There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 12:22 p.m.

                                                                                    Respectfully submitted,

                                                                                    Shelley Ponce

                                                                                    Committee Secretary

(Audio recordings and attachments on file in the Secretary of the Senate’s Office/Resource Center, Room 115. Audio archives are available at http://www.azsenate.gov)

---------- DOCUMENT FOOTER ---------

AD HOC COMMITTEE ON ENERGY

 AND WATER DEVELOPMENT

November 16, 2009

Page 1

---------- DOCUMENT FOOTER ---------