‘Headlines have Consequences’: Arizona Economic Agency Fields Hundreds of Concerned Calls on New Groundwater Report’s Impact

In the past several days, Chris Camacho, the CEO of the Greater Phoenix Economic Council, said his organization has fielded about 200 messages from stakeholders who have raised questions and concerns over Arizona’s future.

The texts, calls and emails poured in from national site selectors, investors and their clients wondering if the Phoenix metro could no longer support the substantial growth it has experienced for years in housing, population and economic development.

The panic arrived just after the state unveiled a new groundwater update for the Phoenix metro late last week and said it would halt construction for subdivisions that have not already secured water certificates required to build and are reliant on groundwater.

National media outlets subsequently released stories that said the pause in water determinations, which are required for most for-sale homes because of groundwater regulations in the state, signaled the “beginning of the end” for Phoenix’s booming growth.

“Headlines have consequences,” Camacho told the Business Journal. “I’m just aghast that there’s been this reaction and really the coverage from the national media perspective. We’ve been at Arizona water planning for decades and I feel very confident about the future water position of our state.”

The good news, Camacho said, is that they have been able to match the concerns with facts about the state of water in Arizona, its decades of planning and conservation efforts and proposed solutions. Right now, GPEC said about 236 potential companies are considering moving to the Phoenix metro, which has become home to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Intel Corp., LG Energy Solution and more.