Left to right: Heather Macre, board member of the CAWCB, and Vicki Barber, president of the PebbleCreek Democratic Club (photo by Gillian Driscoll)
Gillian Driscoll
At the February meeting of the PebbleCreek Democratic Club, members voted for members of the board for 2025. All nominees were elected unopposed and unanimously. Vicki Barber returns as president, Jim Sheard as vice-president, Barbara McMahon as secretary, and Tammy Dana-Bashien as treasurer. Frankie Veltri was installed as the new member at large. Congratulations to all the board members and thank you for your hard work and service to the club. We are looking forward to 2025!
The speaker at the meeting was Heather Macre. Ms Macre was elected to her third term on the Central Arizona Water Conservation Board (CAWCB) in the past election along with Terry Goddard. There is now a Democratic majority on the board. Ms. Macre is a director at Fennemore Law Firm. She earned a B.A. and a law degree from the University of Florida. She has many awards for her law career and was formerly a member of the board of Planned Parenthood Advocates of Arizona and served on the Phoenix Environmental Quality Commission.
Ms. Macre gave the club an enormous amount of pertinent information regarding water use in our state. The 15 member board of the CAWCB represents three counties related to water rights and usage: Maricopa, Pima, and Pinal. The board oversees policy for the canal system, the Central Arizona Project (CAP). The water goes mostly to municipal and industrial use. Surprisingly the majority of the water is pumped uphill. Although in the Valley the CAP is above ground, on its journey to Southern Arizona, it is underground and therefore not visible.
The CAP brings water from the Colorado River to Arizona. The water is shared by seven states and the amounts that were designated for each state and rising population has meant that the river is now over allocated. Mexico also has rights to the water and is working with the CAWCB to figure out the allocation. There are 76 stakeholders who have been meeting to discuss all of the needs related to water from the Colorado River. They work together to solve the many issues that must be addressed, including preserving the environment and habitats of the river, finding new sources such as desalination, and forecasting water demand for the future.
There is much to be concerned about for water supply and usage not only in Arizona, but the whole of the Southwest. Ms. Macre advised us to go to KnowYourWaterNews.com to sign up for a weekly email update and to take advantage of the CAP free webinars at centralarizonaproject.com. We are grateful to Ms. Macre for spending time with us and giving us so much information and congratulate her on her re-election.
The PebbleCreek Democratic Club meets on the first Wednesday of the month in the Tuscany Falls Ballroom. Social hour begins at 6 p.m. and the meeting starts at 7 p.m. Meetings are open and all are welcome.