Drought, water overuse prompt Arizona to limit construction in some fast-growing parts of Phoenix
1 year, 6 months ago

Drought, water overuse prompt Arizona to limit construction in some fast-growing parts of Phoenix

Associated Press  

PHOENIX — Arizona will not approve new housing construction on the fast-growing edges of metro Phoenix that rely on groundwater thanks to years of overuse and a multi-decade drought that is sapping its water supply. Driving the state’s decision was a projection that showed that over the next 100 years, demand in metro Phoenix for almost 4.9 million acre-feet of groundwater would be unmet without further action, Hobbs said. Hobbs added that there are 80,000 unbuilt homes that will be able to move forward because they already have assured water supply certificates within the Phoenix Active Management Area, a designation used for regulating groundwater. In rapidly growing Phoenix suburbs such as Queen Creek and Buckeye, developers have relied on unallocated groundwater to show that they had adequate water supplies for the next 100 years, which Arizona requires for building permits in some areas.

Water West Arizona State Phoenix Hobbs Groundwater  arizona  fastgrowing  limit  water  prompt  drought  state  metro  supply  states  restrictions  parts  phoenix  groundwater  construction  overuse  hobbs

History of this topic

Arizona agency takes action to regulate groundwater use in rural southeast
3 days, 19 hours ago

Arizona agency takes action to regulate groundwater use in rural southeast

Associated Press  

PHOENIX — It’s necessary to regulate groundwater in the state’s rural southeast, allowing the designation of a controlled area to stop rapid depletion of the water through agricultural use, the Arizona Department of Water Resources announced Friday. The department’s Director Tom Buschatzke said data analysis of hydrologic conditions in the state’s Willcox basin shows that the conditions have been met …

Arizona’s Senate has passed a plan to manage rural groundwater, but final success is uncertain
9 months, 3 weeks ago

Arizona’s Senate has passed a plan to manage rural groundwater, but final success is uncertain

Associated Press  

PHOENIX — A plan to manage rural groundwater passed Arizona’s Republican-controlled Senate on Thursday amid growing concerns about the availability of sufficient water for future generations in the arid Southwestern state. “This legislation leaves rural Arizonans without a real solution for how their groundwater is managed,” Hobbs’ spokesperson Christian Slater said Thursday. “Governor Hobbs is dedicated to continued work with …

Arizona to cancel leases allowing Saudi-owned farm access to state's groundwater
1 year, 2 months ago

Arizona to cancel leases allowing Saudi-owned farm access to state's groundwater

The Independent  

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Arizona governor Katie Hobbs said …

Phoenix Is Dangerously Close to a Water Crisis. Are These Old Ideas Solutions?
1 year, 6 months ago

Phoenix Is Dangerously Close to a Water Crisis. Are These Old Ideas Solutions?

Slate  

This story was originally published by High Country News and has been republished here as part of the Climate Desk collaboration. Recently, however, while I was digging through my digital archives—files I’ve saved from past reporting projects—I ran into an old report from 2008 put out by Arizona State University’s Morrison Institute for Public Policy. But the authors distill many …

In Arizona, fresh scrutiny of Saudi-owned farm’s water use
1 year, 7 months ago

In Arizona, fresh scrutiny of Saudi-owned farm’s water use

Associated Press  

In rural Arizona’s La Paz County, on the state’s rugged border with California, the decision by a Saudi-owned dairy company to grow alfalfa in the American Southwest for livestock in the Gulf kingdom first raised eyebrows nearly a decade ago. Mayes vowed to look into Fondomonte’s operations and water use last year after the Arizona Republic reported that the Arizona …

In Arizona, fresh scrutiny of Saudi-owned farm's water use
1 year, 7 months ago

In Arizona, fresh scrutiny of Saudi-owned farm's water use

The Independent  

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. In an interview with The Associated Press, Attorney General …

Water permits for Saudi Arabia-owned farm in Arizona revoked
1 year, 8 months ago

Water permits for Saudi Arabia-owned farm in Arizona revoked

Associated Press  

PHOENIX — The state of Arizona has rescinded drilling permits for two water wells for a Saudi Arabia-owned alfalfa farm in the western portion of the state after authorities said they discovered inconsistencies in the company’s well applications. This week, Attorney General Kris Mayes said her office uncovered the inconsistencies in applications for new wells for the company Fondomonte Arizona …

In deep-red corner of Arizona, threat of losing water starts to outweigh fear of regulation
1 year, 10 months ago

In deep-red corner of Arizona, threat of losing water starts to outweigh fear of regulation

CNN  

Kingman, Arizona CNN — Driving along county roads that are little more than dirt paths, Tim Walsh remarked that the expansive valley below the Long Mountain range used to be no more than tumbleweeds and scraggly cactuses. Kathleen Ferris, a former state water official and one of the architects of Arizona’s landmark 1980 groundwater management law, likens groundwater to a …

Arizona restricts farming to protect groundwater supply
2 years ago

Arizona restricts farming to protect groundwater supply

Associated Press  

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. — The outskirts of Kingman, Arizona, used to be a place where pilots would train and recreationists tested their all-terrain vehicles. It’s the first such designation in Arizona in four decades — highlighting struggles around the U.S. as water supplies dwindle and tensions grow between farmers and cities. “It’s really tricky,” said Kathy Tackett-Hicks, a consultant for Peacock …

Ex-Reclamation commissioner to head Arizona water entity
2 years, 1 month ago

Ex-Reclamation commissioner to head Arizona water entity

Associated Press  

PHOENIX — 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. Burman will lead the Central Arizona Project at a time when the seven states in the river’s basin are being asked to cut back significantly …

Arizona’s Sen Kelly slams California on Colorado River use
2 years, 1 month ago

Arizona’s Sen Kelly slams California on Colorado River use

Associated Press  

PHOENIX — California communities exposed to hazardous dust by a drying lake bed have found themselves at the center of tensions between Arizona and California over how to conserve water along the overtaxed Colorado River. U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly, an Arizona Democrat facing reelection, wants the federal government to withhold money for environmental cleanup at the Salton Sea until California …

In Arizona, worry about access to Colorado River water
2 years, 3 months ago

In Arizona, worry about access to Colorado River water

Associated Press  

TUCSON, Ariz. — Robbie Woodhouse’s grandfather began nearly a century of family farming along the Gila River near Yuma in the middle 1920s when he dug up a bunch of mesquite stumps on his land to make way for his barley, wheat, Bermuda seed, cotton and melon fields. Due to a logjam in interstate negotiations for massive cuts in Colorado …

Drought in the US: Water Supply Cut for States Colorado, Arizona; Mexico’s Quota Reduced
2 years, 4 months ago

Drought in the US: Water Supply Cut for States Colorado, Arizona; Mexico’s Quota Reduced

News 18  

Water supplies to some US states and Mexico will be cut to avoid “catastrophic collapse” of the Colorado River, Washington officials said Tuesday, as a historic drought bites. More than two decades of well below average rainfall have left the river — the lifeblood of the western United States — at critical levels, as human-caused climate change worsens the natural …

Governor signs $1.2B water plan as Arizona faces cutbacks
2 years, 5 months ago

Governor signs $1.2B water plan as Arizona faces cutbacks

Associated Press  

PHOENIX — Arizona Gov. Climate change and a nearly 30-year drought forced the move, which comes as Arizona faces cutbacks in its Colorado River water supply and more loom. “So today we are taking action to do what the men and women of Arizona hired us to do — position our state for success today, tomorrow and for generations to …

EXPLAINER: How cities in the West have water amid drought
2 years, 6 months ago

EXPLAINER: How cities in the West have water amid drought

Associated Press  

As drought and climate change tighten their grip on the American West, the sight of fountains, swimming pools, gardens and golf courses in cities like Phoenix, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Salt Lake City, Boise, and Albuquerque can be jarring at first glance. Phoenix, Las Vegas, San Diego, Los Angeles, Denver, Salt Lake City, Tucson, Albuquerque and other Western cities use …

Phoenix among those voluntarily losing Colorado River water
2 years, 11 months ago

Phoenix among those voluntarily losing Colorado River water

Associated Press  

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. — The city of Phoenix this week outlined how it will voluntarily contribute water to a regional plan to shore up the country’s largest reservoir that delivers Colorado River water to three states and Mexico. The plan announced in December provides funding for states in the lower Colorado River basin — Arizona, Nevada and California — plus the …

First water cuts in US West supply to hammer Arizona farmers
3 years, 4 months ago

First water cuts in US West supply to hammer Arizona farmers

Associated Press  

CASA GRANDE, Ariz. — A harvester rumbles through the fields in the early morning light, mowing down rows of corn and chopping up ears, husks and stalks into mulch for feed at a local dairy. Standing next to a dry field, his boots kicking up dust, farmer Will Thelander said “more and more of the farm is going to look …

Arizona farmers to bear brunt of cuts from Colorado River
3 years, 7 months ago

Arizona farmers to bear brunt of cuts from Colorado River

Associated Press  

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. — Arizona is prepared to lose about one-fifth of the water the state gets from the Colorado River in what could be the first federally declared shortage in the river that supplies millions of people in the U.S. West and Mexico, state officials said Thursday. That’s because Arizona agreed long ago to be the first in line for …

US West prepares for possible 1st water shortage declaration
3 years, 8 months ago

US West prepares for possible 1st water shortage declaration

Associated Press  

CARSON CITY, Nev. — The man-made lakes that store water supplying millions of people in the U.S. West and Mexico are projected to shrink to historic lows in the coming months, dropping to levels that could trigger the federal government’s first-ever official shortage declaration and prompt cuts in Arizona and Nevada. That’s the level that prompts a shortage declaration under …

Discover Related