A group of Arizona leaders gathered Tuesday afternoon to discuss the future of Arizona's water, and how to secure it.
Greg Stanton, the mayor for Phoenix, and Doug von Gausig, the mayor for Clarkdale, invited several officials from rural and urban communities to talk about the idea of securing the state's water future through the Salt and Verde Rivers Water Fund, which was developed by The Nature Conservancy and others.
The meeting, hosted by the Nature Conservacy, was held at the Pointe Hilton in Phoenix.
The Salt and Verde Rivers Water Fund aims to improve and invest in the quality of water and quantity of the flow in the upstream rivers by the downstream businesses and communities that benefit from the water. This is done so to help prevent droughts, fires and other environmental disasters that could impact the water. and its communities.
Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton said the city is in great shape right now when it comes to water supply, but he doesn't think we should be ignoring our neighbors' needs because it will affect us.
"Cities can't just look at the ends of their city and say our influence and what we care about stops at the city line," Stanton said. "For a city like Phoenix, we have to care passionately about what happens upstream because the quality of the water that comes to us is very important and it costs a lot of money if we don't get great water upstream."
According to the Nature Conservancy, being in a 20-year drought has resulted in a 35 percent decline in river flow.
Now, the group's water fund hopes to raise $7 million over three years to fund water conservation and quality projects.
