Rising temperatures are taking a worsening toll on the Colorado River, study finds
Scientists focused on the role of snow cover as a “protective shield” for water in the river basin./phys.org By Ian James | The Republic Scientists have documented how climate change is sapping the Colorado River, and new research shows the river is so sensitive to warming that it could lose about one-fourth of its flow by […]
Read More →Arizona Senate committee shelves groundwater bill after impassioned debate
Aquifers containing groundwater help cities manage their water supplies. By Ian James | The Republic State senators heard impassioned pleas from supporters of proposed legislation that would make it easier for Arizona water regulators to limit well-drilling in farming areas where groundwater levels are falling. But in the end, the bill was set aside, its […]
Read More →Regional News: Trump signs order diverting water to California farmers against state wishes
Site of the potential intake for the delta tunnel project in the north Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, near Freeport. /Katie Cahill /CNS By Rebecca Beitsch | The Hill President Trump on Wednesday signed an order in California to re-engineer the state’s water plans, completing a campaign promise to funnel water from the north to a thirsty […]
Read More →Groups plan to sue over federal change that guts protections for Arizona
By Elizabeth Whitman | Phoenix New Times More than a dozen conservation groups, including the Tucson-based Center for Biological Diversity, announced plans Tuesday to sue the Trump administration over its rollback of a federal rule aimed at protecting rivers and streams across the United States. In Arizona, curbing that rule, Waters of the United States, eliminates protections for more than […]
Read More →Ranchers, environmentalists on collision course in defining ‘waterway’
A beaver dam on the San Pedro River Southeastern Arizona. The river flows north out of Sonora, Mexico. A recent change in federal rules will require Arizona to define what is a waterway./PHOTO BY HOLLY RICHTER/NATURE CONSERVANCY By Andrew Nicla via Arizona Capitol Times A beaver dam on the San Pedro River Southeastern Arizona. The […]
Read More →As groundwater depletes, arid American west is moving east
Loss of groundwater may accelerate drying trends in the eastern United States, according to research that applied supercomputing to create an in-depth model of how groundwater will respond to warming. By Daniel Stolte | University of Arizona Communications Depletion of groundwater will be more disruptive to vegetation, streams and rivers in the eastern U.S. than […]
Read More →Metro Phoenix cities don’t have equal access to water. See how your city stacks up.
The Central Arizona Project aqueduct system, shown meandering west of Phoenix, diverts Colorado River water to cities, farms and tribes in Central and Southern Arizona. /Ross D. Franklin / The Associated Press 2010 By Joshua Bowling | Arizona Republic Where water flows, development follows. The Hohokam long ago carved canals through the Phoenix area to […]
Read More →State lawmakers and industry talk water stewardship
By Victoria Harker | Chamber Business News Representatives from Arizona’s most sustainable companies — Microsoft, Intel, Arizona Public Service, Ewing Irrigation, Salt River Project and others — met with legislative leaders at the state Capitol last week to talk about the state’s water supply and how to protect it for future development. Businesses will continue […]
Read More →Buckeye is the nation’s fastest-growing city. But it doesn’t have the water to keep it up
File photo By Joshua Bowling | Arizona Republic Mike Ingram looks at raw desert west of the White Tank Mountains, some 40 miles west of Phoenix, where brush clings to brown soil and cactuses stretch toward blue sky, and envisions tens of thousands of homes. Ingram, founder and chairman of Scottsdale-based El Dorado Holdings, manages the ambitious Douglas Ranch master-planned community […]
Read More →Water management fixes won’t come soon for Arizona, experts say
By Tony Davis | Arizona Daily Star Overhauling a state water program that allows new suburban developments to sprout on pumped groundwater will likely take years — if it ever happens. While concern is mounting about “unintended consequences” of the 1993 law that set this program up, the law’s complexity and its strong support from […]
Read More →
