Letter: Water Use

The elephant in the room. There is no 100-year supply of groundwater anywhere in Arizona that can support our current population. The overuse of Colorado River and groundwater must stop. Agricultural uses the most water, and California is number one in US food production. We need the food and the water. The solution to both would be to invest in advanced agricultural practices, drip irrigation, no-till farming, and more greenhouse food production. The amount of money proposed to build a desalination plant should be used to bring food production into the 21st century. Educate and provide financial support to growers, starting with smaller organically run farms and greenhouses. We have the technology and knowledgeable people involved in agricultural engineering in universities and industry that are not being consulted or asked to help. Innovation and forethought are needed to protect our most valuable resource, water.