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Lee's Ferry, pictured here, serves as the point where negotiators of the Colorado River Compact divided the river into two basins.

The Colorado River Compact turns 100 years old

The question is, is it still working?
Since the 1980s Tucsonans have replaced their green lawns with decomposed granite and opted for plants like palo verde trees and cacti, which can endure long periods of drought and extreme heat.

Phoenix and Las Vegas agree to get rid of decorative grass

The worsening drought brought the agreement from 30 western water agencies.
The revived "heritage" stretch of the Santa Cruz River now flows north of Starr Pass/22nd Street all the way to Congress Street.

Insects find a new home on Santa Cruz River

It has been two years since a new species has moved to the area.

Reclaimed Water

Ever wonder how sewage gets turned into clean water? Here is a behind the scenes peek at Tucson Water’s reclaimed water system and what that process looks like
The Central Arizona Project moves water from the Colorado River to southern Arizona. July 2021

Ex-Reclamation commissioner to head CAP

Burman led the Bureau of Reclamation from 2017 to early 2021 under the Trump administration.
Members of the Supreme Court sit for a new group portrait following the addition of Associate Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, at the Supreme Court building in Washington, Friday, Oct. 7, 2022. Bottom row, from left, Justice Sonia Sotomayor, Justice Clarence Thomas, Chief Justice of the United States John Roberts, Justice Samuel Alito, and Justice Elena Kagan. Top row, from left, Justice Amy Coney Barrett, Justice Neil Gorsuch, Justice Brett Kavanaugh, and Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson.

High court to hear water dispute between Navajo, government

The high court said Friday it would review a lower court ruling in favor of the Navajo Nation, which spans parts of Arizona, Utah and New Mexico.
Water levels are at record lows and still dropping in the nation's largest reservoirs. The federal government began the process of restricting water releases from Glen Canyon Dam, which holds back a shrinking Lake Powell.

Feds want the ability to cut back on Colorado River reservoir releases over the next two years

On Friday, the Interior Department began the process of revising existing guidelines for water management in the Colorado River basin.
A canal carries water from the Colorado River to tribal land in Arizona.

Lower Colorado River reservoir evaporation the focus of new analysis

If implemented in its current form, the proposal would translate to significant cutbacks for users in Nevada, Arizona, and California.
Postal bins with tags for ballots in the 2020 general election.

Cochise County officials say 550 voters got wrong ballot

Some voters should have been given a ballot with a question about water management.
Michael Connor, assistant secretary for the Army for Civil Works, back to camera, Tempe water engineering manager Mark Weber and U.S. Rep. Greg Stanton, D-Phoenix, gather Sept. 1, 2022, in front of the Kyrene Water Reclamation Facility. Stanton is working to secure $37.5 million in federal funds to rehabilitate the plant.

Tempe plans to reopen long dormant water reclamation plant amid grinding drought

The recession caused its closure but the drought is changing plans.
The Central Tucson Groundwater Treatment System, located near Davis Monthan Air Force Base, removes PFAS contaminates from the aquifer below the area.

The Buzz: Dealing with Arizona's PFAS problem

Why are the chemical class also known as forever chemicals so dangerous, and what's being done to fix the problem?
Reductions to Arizona's Colorado River supply, including water delivered by the Central Arizona Project, are issued starting in January 2022. The first-ever cutbacks will mean less available for underground storage.

Tucson gives up some CAP water for cash

City will still get its daily need, but less surplus.
An ore cart, encrusted in invasive mussel shells, rests on a ledge above a receding Lake Powell.

‘It’s getting close’: As the megadrought grinds on, Arizona working to meet water demands

Satellite photos show a dramatic change.
Garnett Querta fills his water truck from a fire hydrant on the Hualapai reservation Monday, Aug. 15, 2022, in Peach Springs, Ariz. The water pulled from the ground here will be piped dozens of miles across the rugged landscape to serve the roughly 600,000 tourists a year who visit the Grand Canyon on the Hualapai reservation in northwestern Arizona — an operation that's the tribe's main source of revenue.

State of unease: Colorado basin tribes without water rights

Hualapai tribal land in northwestern Arizona borders 100 miles of the Colorado River, but the tribe can't draw from it.
Treated wastewater, like this sample in Carson, California, could soon become a bigger part of the West's water portfolio. Cities in the drought-stricken Colorado River basin are putting big money behind project

Water managers see promise in recycling sewage

It could be a solution for the shrinking Colorado River
A vacant lot is used as a place to stack and assemble sandbags for use by residents whose properties are at risk of flooding.

The Buzz: A strong monsoon brings road closures and floods

Why does some infrastructure get overwhelmed by above-average summer rain?

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