Conservation project merits study

By Evan Canfield
Special to the Arizona Daily Star
Tucson, Arizona | Published: 07.31.2008

The Star's recent editorial recommending that the mayor and City Council reject the proposed Conserve to Enhance program ("Conservation program overly convoluted," July 18) unfairly characterized the concept as too complex.
The basic idea of Conserve to Enhance is that people who conserve be allowed to commit water and money for riparian restoration. In effect, it allows a resident an opportunity to direct the water they save to the environment instead of growth.
No doubt, the Conserve to Enhance concept will have to be tailored to Tucson before it can be seriously considered. However, Conserve to Enhance and other programs that reward existing residents for water conservation deserve continued consideration.
Tucsonans recognize that potable water is a limited resource and developers have myriad ways to find water to build more houses. For example, a developer can join the Central Arizona Groundwater Replenishment District, which allows builders to pump groundwater where they are and replenish it with Central Arizona Project water elsewhere in the aquifer.

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