On the Opinion pages of Monday’s Arizona Republic, the director of the Arizona Department of Water Resources, Tom Buschatzke, explains in detail why Arizona is not about to take risks with the state’s vital allocation of Colorado River water.

Buschatzke’s views on the issue also appeared Friday in the Arizona Capitol Times.

Prompted in part by the abundant rain and snow of last winter, some water officials are proposing an alternative to the “pain sharing” plan now under negotiation among Arizona’s water users to help stabilize Lake Mead.

Director Buschatzke describes why that alternative plan is a risky gambit, and asserts forcefully that as the state’s designated manager of Arizona’s Colorado River allocation, he will not gamble on manipulative alternatives.

Of a proposed “flexible” alternative to the statewide “Drought Contingency Plan -Plus,” Buschatzke said this in today’s Republic:

“It doesn’t hold water.

“I won’t support it.

“It’s that simple.”

As a reader guide to this often complex issue, we offer the following links:

Director Buschatzke’s “My Turn” column as it appears in today’s Republic

Buschatzke’s nearly identical column, in Friday’s Arizona Capitol Times (subscription required)

Former ADWR Director Kathleen Ferris’s Republic “My Turn” column of March 21

March 21 report in the Arizona Daily Star by Tony Davis