Independent Newsmedia reached out to the candidates seeking office in the Arizona Legislature to respond to questions about statewide issues. Of the four candidates who will be on the ballot, only incumbent Rep. Alexander Kolodin responded to the questions.

For the second week the question presented is Does Arizona have enough water for the future population and economic vitality? A lot of the state’s economic development depends on availability of a reliable water supply, which depending on various situations seems to be at a premium. What do legislators plan to do?

Kolodin responded, “There is plenty of water in our state but current regulations make it impossible for it to be used efficiently or get where it needs to go, leading to shortages. Last session, Senator Wadsack and I worked to address this problem by introducing a new concept, the water exchange, modeled off research and policy proposals advanced by the Goldwater Institute and the Environmental Research Center. This model has seen great success in other jurisdictions and countries, and I will keep working to bring it home to Arizona.”