WASHINGTON – Arizona Senators Kyrsten Sinema and Mark Kelly urged the U.S. Department of Interior to quickly release drought relief for Arizona and match and increase the $40 million recently allocated to the Arizona Department of Water Resources by the state.
“As state and local officials continue to work to conserve and recycle water, it is crucial that the federal government continue to provide the resources they need as soon as possible. The State of Arizona and other non-federal partners have set aside funding for additional water conservation efforts in 2022. As such, we request that you quickly release the drought relief funds for the Bureau in the CR and encourage you to match efforts in our state with federal resources,” wrote Senators Sinema and Kelly.
Sinema and Kelly stressed the serious drought conditions in Arizona, with Lakes Mead and Powell falling to their lowest levels in decades—severely impacting Arizona farmers, cities, tribes. This drought threatens conservation and watersheds and exacerbates wildfire risks in Arizona.
Sinema’s bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act—legislation that Kelly has also helped shape—makes historic investments in Arizona’s water future, with $8.3 billion in building and strengthening water infrastructure throughout the American West, including aging infrastructure, water storage and conveyance, water recycling and reuse, desalination, drought contingency plans, and dam safety.
Click HERE for the Senators’ letter.
