Brenda Burman, new General Manager of the Central Arizona Water Conservation District, serves on Sinema’s Water Advisory Council
WASHINGTON – Arizona senior Senator Kyrsten Sinema hosted a meeting with the Central Arizona Water Conservation District – including new General Manager Brenda Burman, who serves on Sinema’s Water Advisory Council – to discuss Western water infrastructure and provide an update on the status of the negotiations between Colorado River Basin States.
“I’m glad to count the Central Arizona Water Conservation District as a key partner as we continue developing solutions to Arizona’s drought crisis,” said Sinema.
The meeting marks Brenda Burman’s first in her new role as General Manager of the Central Arizona Project, which Sinema enthusiastically supported.
Last week, six of seven Basin states announced a proposal for the states to come together in a collaborative process to find lasting solutions to the Colorado River drought crisis. Sinema voiced her support for the collaborative effort and called on California to work with the rest of the states.
Sinema has long acknowledged that there isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution to a challenge as severe as the West’s historic drought conditions, which is why she has made a point to consistently meet with Arizona water experts from all backgrounds. Since negotiating her landmark Infrastructure Investment and Jobs law and delivering historic investments to the state, Sinema has been actively working with partners in Arizona and across the West to identify solutions helping mitigate the impact of Western drought.
Last year, Sinema launched a Water Advisory Council of Arizona water experts from agriculture, tribal, conservation, academic, and business communities across Arizona – including Brenda Burman – to help advise the Senator on water issues and form a lasting regional plan that mitigates the historic drought conditions in the American West. In October, Sinema convened her third Water Advisory Council meeting, during which members of the Council discussed next steps for new funding opportunities.
Between Sinema’s bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs law and the Inflation Reduction law she shaped, the Senator has secured more than $12 billion in drought relief and Western water funding.