Growth in rural districts is as important as in urban areas, a Republican representative is arguing as he leads opposition to the transfer of water for municipal use.
The Arizona Department of Water Resources is holding public hearings over the proposal to transfer 2,083.1 acre-feet of its fourth priority Colorado River water entitlement to the town of Queen Creek.
Rep. Leo Biasiucci (R-Lake Havasu), however, said the transfer, although relatively small, breaks with precedent in allowing protected water to leave a rural area of Mohave and La Paz counties.
In a letter to the department, Biasiucci wrote, "Perhaps my most passionate argument rests on the damage this transfer will cause for the people of my district and inevitably all of rural Arizona if it goes through."
In a subsequent statement, he added, "A majority of the time I spend as a legislator is protecting our rural district from being taken advantage of by outside interests. "Our growth is just as important as the growth of any other city or county in Arizona and we will always fight to protect our water from being transferred to the bigger cities."
The water is currently held under a contact between GSC Farms and the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. It is used to irrigate about 485 acres of farmland within the Cibola Valley Irrigation and Drainage District in La Paz County.
The transfer would take the water to Queen Creek for use in Maricopa and Pinal counties.
Biasiucci said that GSC does not have the property right to the water it wants to transfer.
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