COTTONWOOD - A former state senator and representative, Tom O'Halleran has always enjoyed a good public policy debate.
And perhaps the first policy issue he engaged in after moving to Arizona was the debate over the pumping of the Big Chino and its potential effects on the flow of the Verde River.
When the question threatened to blow up the first time, in 1998, O'Halleran helped transform the debate from name calling to one of scientific research and questions of management options.
Out of the statehouse now and back to a semi-private life, he has returned to his roots once again, this time leading a charge by the Verde River Basin Partnership to secure the funding it was promised four years ago when it was created by Congress.
But more than that, O'Halleran is committed, once again, to bringing reason back to a debate that has turned sour, and to help the general public understand that when it comes to developing sustainable water resources, the debate extends way beyond the Verde River watershed.
"The truth is our water issues here on the Verde are far larger than the watershed. They extend to the legislature in Phoenix and even beyond to the federal government in Washington. Water is a national resource," he says.
Getting the public to think beyond their immediate basin is the challenge O'Halleran has chosen to take on. Reason, he believes, will only prevail through education.
Over the next few months, O'Halleran, in conjunction with the VRBP, will be making a presentation throughout the Verde Valley and Prescott called "Sustainable Water Resources -- a Regional Issue" to citizen groups, clubs and the general public.
"I actually plan to take this anywhere in the state where people will listen." he says.
Although he is committed to helping the VRBP receive the federal funding necessary to fund the science, to make the management decision that will ultimately solve the issues in the Big Chino and the Verde, he is trying to make it clear that pumping the Big Chino is not the biggest issue on the table today.
"If that were all this was about I wouldn't even want to be involved in it," he says. "The Big Chino pumping issue will be dealt with in the courts. The policy debate today is about the sustainability of our resource."
For a schedule of presentations visit www.verderiverbasinpartnership.org.
