The year 2002 is being celebrated as the Year of Clean Water. Thirty years ago, on Oct. 18, 1979, the Clean Water Act became law, its passage representing a milestone in the efforts to protect our nation's water resources. The CWA set the goal of restoring and maintaining the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of the nation's waters. Much has been accomplished, and much remains to be done.

Tucson Water is breaking new ground in its efforts to provide its customers real-time water quality data, with results displayed on an interactive web site.

Legislation has been introduced to settle decades of litigation that has left many individuals and interests in the state uncertain about their water rights. Arizona Sens. Jon Kyl and John McCain recently introduced the Arizona Water Settlements Act to ratify state water right settlements.

The 2002 farm bill provides a potential new funding source through its land retirement programs to support environmental and water conservation efforts in Arizona. Although Arizona traditionally has not gained much from these programs, recent developments could place the state in a more favorable funding position. This could be a timely opportunity since the new bill provides increased funding for land retirement programs.

In coverage of the current water events of the day desalination has lately been gathering greater national attention. Recent newsworthy events include the construction and operation of the Western Hemisphere's largest desalination plant in Tampa. Meanwhile California is experiencing a surge of interest in desalination, with plants proposed or planned at 13 sites along the coast.

The generation of electrical power is a growth industry in Arizona, with 19 power plants proposed for various areas of the state. The surge in the number of power plants wanting to operate within Arizona is a relatively recent occurrence. The movement began in the fall of 1999 when a power plant was proposed for the Kingman area and continues with Nogales and Vail mentioned as possible future sights. One official remarked that Arizona promises to be a hub for power plants.

Work continues as researchers seek additional information about a series of prehistoric irrigation canals recently discovered along the Santa Cruz River in Tucson that include the oldest canals ever found north of Mexico. Radiocarbon dating on charcoal fragments found in the canals and on plant remains in the different layers of the site indicate the series of canals were constructed between about 3,000 and 2,000 years ago

Early in the Governor's Water Management Commission's review of the Arizona Groundwater Management Act it was noted that the "bucket had holes in it." This was the metaphor of choice adopted by participants who believed that various legal exemptions in the GMA allowed unrestricted groundwater pumping. They said such exempted pumping undermined the GMA goals of the Active Management Areas, particularly safe yield in the Phoenix, Tucson and Prescott AMAs.

A recent court decision prohibits the Arizona Department of Water Resources from enforcing gallons per capita per day standards, a key strategy for regulating municipal water use. A Superior Court ruling stated that the provision of Arizona's Groundwater Management Act's Second Management Plan by which DWR imposes maximum GPCD requirements "is vacated and set aside because it fails to address water utilization by end users." The judge also ordered DWR to pay plaintiff's attorneys' fees of $137,900.

In a case that bristles with far-reaching implications, the Navajo Nation has sued the federal government in an effort to obtain recognition of tribal claims to Colorado River water. A consideration of such rights could result in a rethinking of current state and federal water management policies and practices.