Homebuilders and Republican state lawmakers have filed a lawsuit seeking to void a rule requiring them to prove they have access to alternative water supplies in certain parts of the state.
The Homebuilders Association of Central Arizona alleges the Department of Water Resources lacks the authority to determine if people have enough water for new developments.
The rule they’re challenging requires developers to show they have access to 100 years of water. They’re also currently required to have even more water from an additional supply.
Those rules apply to active water management areas in metro Phoenix and Pinal County.
State House Speaker Steve Montenegro and Senate President Warren Peterson have joined the lawsuit, saying only the Legislature has the authority to require such rules.
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Artificial intelligence is growing in popularity. But, AI uses a lot of water, which is in increasingly short supply in places like Arizona. Shaolei Ren, an associate professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of California, Riverside, joined The Show to talk through some of this.
