The Feb. 14 deadline has passed, and the basin states still don't have a new Colorado River operating agreement amid historic drought. Central Arizona Project President Terry Goddard tells Arizona's Morning News it's the longest, continuous reduction in precipitation in roughly 1,000 years. Lakes Powell and Mead are dangerously close to dead pool. The basin states have until the end of the year to finalize a new operating agreement into state and federal law.
A new experimental technology called cloud seeding is being used in Arizona to produce more rain. About 30 cloud seeding tests were done in Pinal County last summer. The project cost nearly $220,000 to execute and produced about 34,000-acre feet of rain, for a water cost of roughly $6.50 an acre foot.
Proposed legislation would allow New York City hedge fund Water Asset Management to sell water from the McMullen Valley aquifer, in Western Arizona, to municipalities in the Valley. Wenden residents worry this will further deplete the aquifer, while WAM maintains they can help extend the life of the aquifer.
Salt River Project has teamed up with ASU and Airborne Snow Observatories to measure the snowpack in the Salt River Basin. ASO uses aircraft outfitted with lidar technology to measure the snowpack. ASU grad students then put the data into hydrological models to help inform how much water comes into the Salt River Basin.
The Town of Cave Creek paid $50k in October to buy one acre of land from Harquahala Valley Landowners LLC that would have given them 500 acre feet of groundwater a year for the next 100 years.
Rio Verde Foothills residents now have access to hauled water thanks to a year’s long project from EPCOR. Scottsdale stopped brining water to the unincorporated community in 2023. EPCOR Senior Vice President of Regulated U.S. Water Shawn Bradford explains this is when EPCOR stepped in and started working with Maricopa County, the City of Scottsdale and the Arizona Corporation Commission on a solution.
The Center for Biological Diversity has accused federal appraisers of ignoring water concerns in Southern Arizona. The environmental nonprofit received documents showing appraisers for Housing and Urban Development, as well as the Federal Housing Administration are not including water scarcity in their reports for homes in Sierra Vista and Fort Hauchuca.
Glendale Community College students were awarded grants for their projects creating sustainable solutions to affordable housing and water scarcity. Third-place winner Farah Manasir received $1,000 for her NanoLoop project - Affordable Water Recycling for Arizona Homes and Communities.
A water study conducted in-part by Northern Arizona University found the Rio Grande River in New Mexico and Texas is potentially at risk of a water shortage due to overuse. By measuring the amount of water coming into the river and subtracting what is being taken out, it found about 50% overuse of the river from what’s available.
The Arizona Board of Regents has awarded $3 million to the Arizona Hub for Agriculture Innovation Research, which will work on solutions to make the industry more sustainable given water challenges. The tri-university initiative will take place in Yuma where they grow high value crops year-round.