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PHOENIX - Benjamin H. Grumbles said preserving the purity and availability of groundwater will be among his chief priorities as incoming director of the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality.

  "Sometimes that which you can’t see or fully appreciate is the most precious, and that’s what I think about when I think about Arizona and groundwater," Grumbles said in an interview with Cronkite News Service.

  Gov. Jan Brewer this week appointed Grumbles, who until recently was assistant administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Water, as her policy adviser on environmental issues. She said he would transition into the top job at ADEQ in late June, after he moves here from Arlington, Va.

  He will replace Steve Owens, who resigned in January when Gov. Janet Napolitano left to head the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

  "I’m really excited about working for DEQ and for the governor to ensure that the air is clean, the water pure, the land better protected," Grumbles said.

  Grumbles said he looked forward to addressing Arizona’s water issues in terms of quality and quantity.

   "It is so precious and so vital to the future of the state and prosperity. Protecting aquifers and the state’s water supplies above and below ground is really important."

  Grumbles also said he would focus on principles of sustainable growth and development. "That means looking to make sure that the footprint on the landscape is minimized and that water waste and water pollution is reduced."