Printable VersionLake Havasu City Mayor Mark Nexsen said the room fell silent Friday at a meeting to discuss the Colorado River and the city's sewer issues when he read a letter from a local woman who had taken a second mortgage on her home in order to pay her sewer bill.
Nexsen and Bullhead City Mayor Jack Hakim have spearheaded a campaign for legislation and federal assistance for the Colorado River through the Colorado River Regional Sewer Coalition for the better part of the last five years.
Hakim called the meeting a huge breakthrough for CRRSCo, and both mayors now feel all the right people in Washington are feeling the urgency of the issue.
"People in this community are broke, and we are on the brink of not being able to pay our (sewer) bonds," Nexsen said.
Along with legislative representatives, the mayors were able to bend the ear of a number of different agencies, including the Bureau of Reclamation, Southern Nevada Water Authority, Environmental Protection Agency, Arizona Fish & Wildlife, Arizona Department of Environmental Quality, Metropolitan Water District and the Central Arizona Project.
The group specifically addressed the need for long-term protective legislation for the river and for short-term financial aid for both Bullhead City and Lake Havasu City from the federal government for their sewer projects.
Nitrates, pharmaceuticals and quagga mussels are all threats to the Colorado River. Nexsen said what was most discussed, though, was the emphasis of nutrient loading into the water and the need for watershed protection of the river, similar to what is in place for the Mississippi River and Great Lakes.
"We want to make sure we don't take a peace meal approach to solve a very large problem," Nexsen said, indicating he did not want to settle for a second or third best solution to the problem.
Nexsen said he openly spoke of both cities' need for federal assistance in the form of grants. He told the group of about 40 representatives, some by phone and others in person, that neither city could afford more loans, and that both cities hoped to receive credit for what was spent.
As both cities struggle to balance their 2009-10 budgets, Hakim made it clear to the representatives that a tremendous amount of money had been spent on the sewer projects, and neither city could afford to spend any more.
The real impact of Friday's meeting would have to be felt in Washington, Nexsen said. With the agencies having limited budgets for support, Nexsen said legislators would have to figure out where financial aid would come from. And he said, everyone was in agreement that comprehensive legislation would need to be put together in order for this to work.
"Ryan Smith (legislative council for Sen. Kyl) said they would need information to put into legislation that would not only passes the muster but has the support to get passed," Nexsen said.
Smith was one of the two Kyl representatives that came separately from Washington and Phoenix for the meeting. Andrew Wilder, communications director for Sen. Kyl, said the representatives would brief Sen. Kyl in the coming days of the meeting. Both staffers, Wilder said, felt the meeting had been productive and provided information with which to move forward.
As a result of the meeting, Nexsen said a small committee would reconvene on an informal basis in 60 days to gauge what progress was made in the aftermath of Friday's meeting. He said the committee would likely meet with the EPA at that time, and said he hopes to bring the new head of the ADEQ, Ben Grumbles, to Lake Havasu City and Bullhead City to see firsthand what problems both cities are facing.
You may contact this reporter at twaggoner@havasunews.com.
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