Former U.S. Bureau of Reclamation Commissioner Brenda Burman will be the next general manager of the Arizona entity that distributes much of the state's water from the Colorado River to major metropolitan areas.

The Interior Department announced Friday that it will consider revising a set of guidelines for operating two major dams on the Colorado River in the first sign of what could lead to federal action to protect the once-massive but shrinking reservoirs behind them.

Arizona will lose an additional 80,000 acre-feet from its federally allotted Colorado River water rights next year, on top of a 512,000 acre-foot reduction already in place this year. 

Nearly a year after the Arizona Department of Water Resources said it won’t approve new supply certificates for groundwater use in the Pinal Active Management Area, local groups are pushing back on the agency’s findings and developers have found a way to keep building homes without the need for certificates. 

Former Democratic state senator and representative Herb Guenther died recently.

Importing muddy water from the Mississippi River to save Arizona from drought could be as simple as landing a man on the moon.  

There’s no doubt that our water challenges are myriad and addressing them will require a range of solutions. But funding the department, returning it to satisfactory staffing levels and providing competitive salaries for employee retention is an essential part of the path forward.

Farmers and Gov. Doug Ducey say they are willing to change their stance against government oversight and regulation to protect the state’s dwindling water supply – and they’re willing to let the largest water users write the rules.

In the face of a report that says Pinal County is going dry, a small group of Arizona lawmakers took the first step in helping assure the county has enough groundwater for decades to come and avoid a potential shortfall.

It didn’t take long for the completion of the Drought Contingency Plan to create value to Arizona and the Colorado River Basin.