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Paid not to farm? Expanded Colorado River program divides farm community
With water levels in Lake Powell and Lake Mead at record lows, federal officials are ready to spend tens of millions of dollars to get farmers and other water users to conserve this year and keep the reservoirs from falling farther.
Colorado River senators meet quietly to facilitate states’ water talks
Senators from Arizona and the six other Western states in the Colorado River basin have been quietly meeting “for about a year,” to facilitate difficult discussions between the states over the future of the river.
Snowy winter may not mean enough runoff to replenish the Colorado
Recent data shows a snowy start to 2023 for the Colorado River basin, with heavy winter precipitation in the Rocky Mountains projected to boost spring runoff into Lake Powell to 117% of an average year’s flows.
Public needs more say in water management
Water decision-making tables need to include more representation from the public; more representatives who will speak for the need for water for the environment to allow our natural resources to exist in at least some minimal state of health for all the life that water supports and as a means to better protect the public’s water.
Mayes, lawmakers slam Saudi water deal
Officials on both sides of the aisle want to do something about the deal that’s letting a Saudi-based company pump Arizona groundwater for nothing more than the price of a cheap land lease in La Paz County.
Protect legacy of water conservation – reject SB1660
There is no sugar-coating it: Water supplies in Arizona are approaching crisis levels. We are at an inflection point in our history, where we must confront that the West’s reservoirs are sharply declining – and may never return to historic levels.
Water augmentation tested as Colorado River dwindles
While the lack of groundwater regulation plagues rural Arizona, there are proposed ways to create a larger supply in the region without depending on dwindling amounts from the Colorado River and groundwater.
Groundwater mostly unregulated, impacts rural areas
Groundwater is one of the main water resources for most of Arizona. It is finite and mostly unregulated, especially in rural communities that solely depend on it. To change this, in 2022, the basins around Douglas and Kingman became regulated by the Arizona Department of Water Resources (ADWR).
House committee moves to block sale, lease of state lands to foreign governments
Arizona lawmakers are moving to block the sale and lease of state lands to foreign governments and certain foreign corporations -- but not the one that has caused the concern in the first place.
Panel moves to force Scottsdale to give Rio Verde water
A House panel passed a bill that would force Scottsdale to temporarily resume service providing water to the unincorporated Rio Verde community, but Democrats withheld the support needed for immediate relief.
Interior: $580M headed to 15 tribes to fulfill water rights
Fifteen Native American tribes will get a total of $580 million in federal money this year for water rights settlements, the Biden administration announced Thursday.
Sonora governor criticizes desalination plan
The governor of Sonora, Mexico, is casting doubt on the proposal to put a desalination plant that would treat seawater in Mexico and pump it back to Arizona.
