Appeals Court to Rule on San Pedro River Controversy

The future of Arizona's San Pedro River, the last free-flowing river in the American Southwest, is now in the hands of a state appeals court.

Last week, an Arizona Court of Appeals panel heard testimony in a lawsuit regarding a planned housing development in Sierra Vista in Southern Arizona. The 7,000-unit project would draw water from the San Pedro, The Arizona Republic reported.

The state Department of Water Resources ruled years ago that the project could move forward, but the federal Bureau of Land Managment and two Arizona residents sued, saying the development would deplete the San Pedro and leave stretches of it dry during the summer.

The appeals court must now decide whether the state agency should reconsider its decision. Water law mandates that new developments consider the water needs of area users for a 100-year period, but a bill currently making its way through the Arizona Legislature would allow some rural areas to opt out of that requirement. That bill could also allow the Sierra Vista project to move forward, regardless of how the appeals court rules.

Here's hoping that however things work out, the San Pedro — a popular recreation destination, and a haven for Arizona wildlife — will keep flowing, as it has for centuries.