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Arizona Department of Water Resources

water, Colorado River, California, Arizona, drought, Lake Mead, Lake Powell, U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, Arizona Department of Water Resources
Feb 1, 2023

California releases its own plan for Colorado River cuts

California released a plan Tuesday detailing how Western states reliant on the Colorado River should save more water. It came a day after the six other states in the river basin made a competing proposal.

drought, Colorado River, Arizona, California, Lake Mead
Jan 29, 2023

AP Exclusive: Emails reveal tensions in Colorado River talks

Competing priorities, outsized demands and the federal government's retreat from a threatened deadline stymied a deal last summer on how to drastically reduce water use from the parched Colorado River, emails obtained by The Associated Press show.

water, drought, Hobbs, Ducey, Tom Buschatzke, Arizona Department of Water Resources
Jan 19, 2023

Managing rural groundwater use goal of state official

Will new urgency around Arizona’s water woes lead to more action on the decades-old issue? Arizona Department of Water Resources Director Tom Buschatzke said he thinks so, and there’s a few specific things he has in mind for the next few years under new Gov. Katie Hobbs. 

water, Hobbs, drought, Rio Verde Foothills, Scottsdale, water supply, potable water, toilets, Scottsdale Mayor David Ortega, Maricopa County Supervisor Thomas Galvin
Jan 13, 2023

Hobbs pivots water focus to conservation

Gov. Katie Hobbs wants to expand groundwater conservation efforts in Arizona’s rural areas. 

Lake Mead, Lake Powell, Colorado River, drought, water, Hoover dam, Glen Canyon Dam, Phoenix Water Resources,
Jan 3, 2023

Water reductions for new year may be just the beginning, experts say

Experts say few Arizona residents will notice any immediate change to the availability of water in their daily lives now that steep cuts are in effect on the amount of water the state can draw from the Colorado River. But that does not mean they can relax.

water, groundwater, Kerr, Senate bill
Dec 21, 2022

Arizona restricts farming to protect groundwater supply

The Arizona Department of Water Resources this week put a limit on the amount of land that can be watered, designating the Hualapai Valley as an irrigation non-expansion area. That means anyone who hasn't farmed more than 2 acres there during the past five years can't.

xeriscaping, Arizona, drought, Colorado River, Lake Powell, Lake Mead, Arizona Municipal Water Users Association
Dec 2, 2022

As drought grinds on, Valley homeowners take advantage of xeriscape incentives

Because of cuts to Arizona’s water and the state’s climate conditions, homeowners should consider sustainable ways to use water, according to Warren Tenney, the executive director of the Arizona Municipal Water Users Association.

Nov 11, 2022

Ex-federal official to head Central Arizona Project

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.

drought, Colorado River, Lake Mead, crisis, water, Arizona State University, groundwater depletion
Oct 28, 2022

New US plan could lead to federal action on Colorado River

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.

drought, Colorado River, Lake Mead, crisis, water, Arizona State University, groundwater depletion
Aug 16, 2022

Arizona faces more water cuts under stepped-up Colorado River shortage 

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. 

affordable housing, multifamily homes, tents, downtown, homeless, zoning
May 19, 2022

New housing strategy in Pinal over water issue

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. 

Dec 21, 2021

Former Yuma lawmaker Guenther dies

Former Democratic state senator and representative Herb Guenther died recently.

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