Sens. Mark Kelly and Ruben Gallego are asking the Bureau of Reclamation to ensure projects for Colorado River preservation will still get their funding.
The Bureau of Reclamation has already signed off on money for projects across Arizona — including an $86 million agreement to build a recycled water plant in Tucson in exchange for the city taking less Colorado River water over the next 10 years.
But in a letter to the agency this week, the lawmakers say their constituents are reporting funding for some of that work has been paused amid the Trump administration’s efforts to freeze federal funding.
They say uncertainty about what’s next for those payments has impacted project implementation and could harm collaboration between the federal government and local jurisdictions. They’re asking the agency to ensure all funding is made available again.
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Terry Goddard, president of the Central Arizona Water Conservation District, says it's "very hard to see a non-litigation course in the future." -
A new study from Utah State University suggests that the Colorado River basin states — including Arizona — may have a solution to the looming water crisis right under their noses: alfalfa. -
The two countries have agreed on a plan that they say will facilitate overdue water deliveries from Mexico to the United States. -
Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes says she’ll continue her lawsuit against Saudi Arabian megafarm Fondomonte, despite new actions to restrict groundwater pumping in the area. -
Wildfires are starting to burn more frequently in areas that also get snow. And that’s causing snowpacks to melt earlier than they typically do, especially in the years right after the fire.
