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CWAG Board

Tom Sands

T SandsTom Sands, P.E., R.L.S. retired after a 37-year career as a Water Resource Engineer with SRP in Phoenix. During that tenure he led efforts to develop SRP’s first Long-Range Water Plan, developed and utilized mathematical flow models, worked with local municipalities to utilize their SRP water allocations and Co-Chaired the Municipal and Industrial Drought Planning Committee for Governor Napolitano’s Arizona Drought Plan.

  He also served as Project Manager for the rehabilitation of SRP’s C.C. Cragin (Blue Ridge) Water Project, which collects and transports water to the East Verde River where a portion is diverted to the Town of Payson for their municipal use. He has briefed state and federal elected officials on water issues, helped write legislation and served on SRP’s PIC political action committee.

Sands was named a Fellow of the American Society of Civil Engineers where he served
as chairman of their national committees on Water Resource Planning and Urban Water
Resources.  The Arizona Water Association named him their 2010 Engineer of the Year for his water resource related contributions within Arizona.  In retirement, he has directed water resource studies and overseen well drilling efforts on Boy Scout summer camp properties. 

His education includes a B.S. Degree in Civil Engineering from Arizona State University
with graduate studies in hydrology and water resource engineering.

DAILY DROPLET

  • "Ranchers need clean water for their stock, farmers need it for their crops, every employer needs it to stay in business, and every living thing needs it for life... The law needs to be clear to protect water quality and the rights of landowners."
    Mark Udall

  • "Water is the driver of Nature."
    Leonardo da Vinci

  • "When the well is dry, we know the worth of water."
    Benjamin Franklin, Poor Richard’s Almanac, 1746

  • "...and since flow of information is to spirit what water is to life, we'd best think about how to keep the pipes free and unclogged."
    Raphie Frank

  • "In an age when man has forgotten his origins and is blind even to his most essential needs for survival, water along with other resources has become the victim of his indifference."
    Rachel Carson

  • "We forget that the water cycle and the life cycle are one."
    Jacques Yves Cousteau

  • "Water is life's matter and matrix, mother and medium. There is no life without water."
    Albert Szent-Gyorgyi, 1937 Nobel Prize for Medicine

  • "Water is everywhere and in all living things; we cannot be separated from water. No water, no life. Period..."
    Robert Fulghum

  • "It's the water. Everything is driven by the water."
    Mike Thompson

  • "Whiskey is for drinking; water is for fighting over."
    Mark Twain