Don’t you just love this perfect 80 degree weather? We sure do. But then we heard about snow drought — the lack of snow in the mountains that feed the Colorado, Verde, and Salt River systems — and it has us thinking about water. Well really, our lack of water, and how it might impact all the places we love across Arizona, and our business Suncliffe. Just this weekend, for Arizona Cocktail Weekend, we launched a new spirit, the Cultivaro Amaro. Its ingredients are sourced from across Arizona: bark from Ponderosa Pines in Northern Arizona, pecans from Cochise, dates from Yuma, oranges from Tucson and nopales from across the state.

Small businesses like ours rely on the state’s natural resources to manufacture our products, create jobs and build the local economy. Unfortunately, one of Arizona’s most important water sources, groundwater, remains unmanaged across most of the state. This allows out-of-state interests to extract unlimited amounts of water and creates challenges for many of the small rural communities and farms that depend on this water supply. But that could change. Right now Arizona’s legislators have the opportunity to ensure that comprehensive, statewide groundwater management is passed in the 2025 legislative session.

The upcoming 10% to 20% cuts to the Arizona Colorado River water allocations, as part of the federal government’s response to less available Colorado River water and ongoing megadrought in the West, will further stress Arizona’s groundwater resources. Solving Arizona’s groundwater problems now ensures we can strategically deal with these cuts and any other water management woes that come with managing water in the desert. If left unchecked, these will create a ripple effect, harming businesses, straining our economy and threatening Arizona’s reputation. Water shortage anywhere in Arizona, and the bad media it comes with, impacts potential new investment in the State and hurts us all.

Arizona has a long history of innovation, resilience and working together when it comes to water management. From the creation of the Central Arizona Project (CAP) to the landmark 1980 Groundwater Management Act, we’ve been able to balance growth with sustainability. But today’s challenges require a renewed focus and a willingness to adapt and find consensus by the various business interests in our state and by Arizona’s elected leaders. We can’t wait one or two more years for Arizona’s leaders to take action, we must take action now. We can’t leave the rest of the state behind for another 40 years.

Arizona’s legislators must reach an agreement on comprehensive groundwater management, particularly in rural areas where regulation is weak or nonexistent. Expanding groundwater management to these areas will help ensure that water use is aligned with long-term business and community interests. Without renewed groundwater policies, rural communities will continue to suffer, and economies will stagnate.

Advocacy for smart water policy is not just about conservation — it’s about ensuring that Arizona remains a top destination for businesses and families alike. Only by enacting common sense policies for sustainable water management can we ensure that Arizona remains a thriving hub for commerce and innovation for generations to come.

Cheers, to our shared future,
Clare Byrne – Suncliffe co-founder
Thomas Giddings – Suncliffe co-founder
Ryan Lawrence – Suncliffe co-founder