Yuma Sun e-Edition

WHAT MORE CAN BE DONE?

LOCAL EXPERTS BELIEVE that more can be done. Engel pointed out that Maricopa County and its surrounding communities “need to employ responsible growth management programs with the water they were awarded. Yuma County is growing far faster than the national average as well so we need to ensure that our cities, citizens and industries have ample resources for the future.

“We will continue to do more with our water, like feed the world, rather than create more urban sprawl that isn’t sustainable,” Engel added.

Yuma residents can join the fight. “Speak out when our water resources are being threatened. Write letters and comment on proposed actions. Educate yourself and others on why our water is so important and must be defended and protected,” McDermott said. “Yumans basically have to wait until someone attacks our livelihood and then respond quickly and loudly.”

“We’re all in this together,” Brierley said. “So anything you can do in your home with your landscaping and not wasting water around the house is certainly helpful. But, also, I think it’s this whole public sentiment, the more people can share with their friends things like that video and let them know this is an important place to use water. It’s going to impact the country if we don’t. “It’s so easy to go to the grocery store and get whatever you want. Our food is cheap, and it’s plentiful. That’s the message I like to get across too. We take that for granted, but it’s not a given, and the pandemic showed us we can have empty shelves, we can have supply chain problems,” Brierley added.

“Agriculture is not a given, if we keep saying conserve, conserve, conserve, and we all want to conserve, but there comes a point where you can’t. It takes water to grow these things.

“And another point people don’t get, as they say, oh, those farmers use all that water. Who’s actually using the water? It’s the consumers that are eating the food.”

To watch the video and learn more about research and technology being developed and used by the desert agriculture industry, visit yumaagwater.com and AgSolutions.org.

Biz Feature

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2023-04-01T07:00:00.0000000Z

2023-04-01T07:00:00.0000000Z

https://yumasun.pressreader.com/article/281646784389223

Alberta Newspaper Group