Maricopa County elected five members to the board that runs the Central Arizona Project.
Three people were re-elected: Lisa Atkins, who is the current president of the board of the Central Arizona Water Conservation District (CAWCD), Heather Macre and Terry Goddard.
New to the CAWCD board are Jennifer Martin and April Pinger.
In addition to setting policy for the CAP canal system, the entire panel will be voting on whether to join a final Drought Contingency Plan. That deal will determine how a Colorado River shortage will be felt in Arizona.
"Understanding it and understanding those impacts, [as well as] understanding how different strategies can prevent worse shortages is really important," said Sarah Porter of Arizona State University's Kyl Center for Water Policy.
CAWCD board members serve six-year terms. There are 15 members in all, from Maricopa, Pinal and Pima Counties.