Sensible Water Policies Can Help Build Affordable Homes, According to Republicans
Arizona State Legislature
Arizona grapples with a pressing housing crisis propelled by a population surge alongside a constrained housing inventory, driving home prices up. Republicans attribute this crisis partly to existing water policies, which hinder the construction of new homes in affordable sectors. To tackle this, they introduced SB1172 and HB2589 to preserve groundwater and increase housing supply. SB1172 would allow developers to retire old, water-intensive agricultural lands outside of cities and replace those lands with new, less water intensive single-family homes, while HB2589 would allow developers to move forward with proposed projects, if they are willing to accept a 15% reduction to future demand in pumping. Both bills aim to reduce groundwater pumping and increase housing supply, resulting in a “win-win” situation for Arizona’s housing and water policies.
