One of the West’s top water officials was pushed to resign by the Trump administration. Anne Castle was appointed to serve as federal representative to the Upper Colorado River Commission by the Biden administration in 2022.
It’s not uncommon for her position to turn over with a change in the White House. But Castle says she’s worried about the future under Trump. She says recent orders to release water from California reservoirs were based on a "total lack of understanding about how the system works."
"While it's rational, I think, for us to think that the Colorado River system and its policy direction isn't partisan, and therefore may be safe … while that's rational to think, these are not rational orders," Castle said.
Although she’s left her position, Castle says she’ll be watching how states sharing Colorado River water work towards compromise.
"I think that there is opportunity and possibly some reason for optimism that the states are talking more substantively now about how to get to a consensus agreement," Castle said.
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A bipartisan bill that would put state funds toward a water pipeline project on the Navajo Nation passed the state Senate on Tuesday. -
Republican state lawmakers advanced a rural groundwater protection bill in the House on Tuesday, but rural stakeholders say the bill doesn’t do enough. -
The children’s park had been in disuse for around a decade. Residents have called for a revamp to the park and restoration of the wetland for years. -
This past weekend about 100 volunteers with the Rio Reimagined initiative collected more than six tons of trash during their annual cleanup. From small cans to tires and mirrors, the trash came from a small portion of the Salt River stretching between 91st to 95th avenue. -
While Resolution Copper is taking a proactive approach to meet its tremendous water needs, their actions may still have a lasting and severe impact on the local hydrological landscape around Oak Flat.
