Happy birthday, Arizona!

One hundred years ago today, Arizona became a state. We thought it might be fun to celebrate by posting this classic paper, which was coauthored by Dr. John Harshbarger, who played an integral role in M&A’s history. Published in 1966 as USGS Water Supply Paper 1648, Arizona Water provides a nontechnical, historical perspective on the state’s water issues. Although the dominant water uses here have changed since 1966, the issues — groundwater overdraft, degrading water quality, waterlogging, and land subsidence, coupled with a rapidly increasing population — still challenge us today. Here’s an excerpt:

The vital need for additional water in Arizona is recognized by most of its citizens. If additional water cannot be obtained, the alternatives are continued depletion of the ground-water reservoir, or reductions in water use (with consequent possible dislocations in the economy), or more efficient and conservative of use of the available supply. Of these alternatives, logic points to the last one.

Click here to download the paper (3.8 MB PDF).

Thanks to Val Little and Leo Leonhart for bringing this book to our attention.