The following column is the opinion and analysis of the writer.
Two recent op-ed pieces were published in the Arizona Daily Star, both of which predicted danger to the San Pedro River caused by the Villages at Vigneto project. The op-eds were written by Debbie Collazo, who identified herself as a “founding board member of the Friends of the San Pedro River,” and by Peter Else, who identified himself as the “chair of the Lower San Pedro Watershed Alliance.” Neither author revealed any level of expertise on water preservation issues. However, both take the same point of view — that the Villages at Vigneto will allegedly threaten the San Pedro River.
Both op-eds have something else in common — an absence of facts.
For example, it is remarkable that neither author mentioned the findings of the only state agency with expertise and jurisdiction on the water impact of the Villages project — the Arizona Department of Water Resources (ADWR). It is as if that agency does not exist or its findings do not deserve to be mentioned. In fact — that’s right, fact — after substantial study, the ADWR certified that the Villages project would not endanger adequate water supply for the local adjoining community of Benson, which lies between the Villages and the San Pedro River. Since the ADWR found a lack of adverse effect on adequate water supply for Benson, then it logically follows there would also be a lack of adverse impact on the San Pedro River just a few miles away.
With all respect, the expression of an opinion without facts to support it is all too reminiscent of climate deniers. For these two opinion writers to omit the fact of the ADWR’s certification of water supply adequacy is akin to traveling to the Arctic and, like other climate deniers, ignoring the fact that the ice is melting. Facts do matter — including ones that are inconvenient or inconsistent with preexisting, fact-free ideology.
For those interested in the facts as to why the Villages do not adversely affect the adequacy of water supply, much less imperil the San Pedro River, see my op-ed on the Villages and the water issue. This op-ed was published in another newspaper, the Arizona Republic, which published my op-ed only after insisting on seeing the facts that supported my opinions. That unfortunately did not seem to happen with the two op-eds by Collazo and Else.
