Dear Editor,
Water, water everywhere, or any a drop to drink?
Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s poem, ‘The Rime of the Ancient Mariner’ , written in 1834, seems in many ways, to sum up an impending disaster for Kingman and Mohave County: “Water, water everywhere, nor any a drop to drink.”
As a resident and homeowner in the city of Kingman, I have heard far too many worrisome reports about our aquifers being at reclining low levels and then reports that refute that claim which offsets the unsettling alarm. Will Kingman ever run dry? Will the cost of water become unaffordable? Will water shortages and perhaps mandatory conservation, lead to plummeting property values?
One has to wonder with the Colorado River just a short distance away how could that ever become a reality? The answers to these questions are many and varied with many competing forces at play. Water rights and distribution have become a complicated conundrum between states, farming lobbies and legislation, and competing parameters for measuring and evaluating our water levels. Do we want our water controlled by the state of Arizona or by our counties?
There are more than a few pieces of proposed legislation to address Mohave County’s and Kingman’s potential water supply. Our State Legislators are in disturbing conflict. As a candidate for Kingman City Council, I want to make my position clear as water. I am not going to use all the legislative mumble jumble nomenclatures and catchphrases; I am going to use plain English: I am against state control or any one-size-fits-all legislation. I will never water my position down; I am against mandatory conservation or increasing water surcharges.
The best interest of our County and the best interest of the people of Kingman will always quench my thirst to protect and preserve our vital and precious water resources.
I’m not a politician, but, like you, a concerned resident with the will, time and energy to help our community keep ahead of our growth curve.
Elliot Chalew
Candidate, Kingman City Council
