Water conservation is an important issue in the state of Arizona, and “Arizona Horizon” has featured various stories covering the water crisis and developing policies.
View the episodes below to learn more about water conservation in the Grand Canyon State. Watch “Arizona Horizon” weeknights at 5 p.m. on air or on our YouTube news channel, AZPBS Now, or catch full episodes online later or on the PBS app.
U.S. Bureau of Reclamation weighs Colorado River drought plans – January 20, 2026
The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation is a sub-agency of the Department of the Interior that oversees the water supply for tens of millions of people in the West. The agency recently released a list of options for how it might manage a potential drought-stricken Colorado River in the future.
The proposals vary from taking “no action” to a scenario that might result in water cuts to the lower basin states of Arizona, California and Nevada. In partnership with conservation groups, an alternative would incentivize states and water users to proactively conserve the river.
While the Department of the Interior has outlined the scenarios in detail, they have not identified a preferred option. The plans will only be implemented if all seven states that depend on the water fail to agree on their own conservation plan soon.
Sarah Porter, Director of the Kyl Center for Water Policy, joined “Arizona Horizon” to discuss the options proposed by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation.
Groundwater disappearing from Arizona at alarming rate – August 20, 2025
A new ASU-led study using 20 years of satellite data shows freshwater is disappearing rapidly, with two-thirds lost from groundwater, worsening continental drying, including in the southwestern U.S., and contributing to rising sea levels, threatening global food and water security.
Jay Famiglietti, ASU’s Global Futures Professor, explained on “Arizona Horizon” that NASA’s GRACE mission tracks these changes on land, including snow, ice and soil moisture, revealing that drying areas are expanding each year by twice the size of California.
Improving Arizona’s water infrastructure to combat drought – May 5, 2025
Almost all of Arizona is currently under a drought condition. Some cities are asking residents to conserve water. Water infrastructure for cities encompasses all the systems that move, store, treat and dispose of water within a city.
Shawn Bradford, Senior Vice President Regulated U.S. Water at EPCOR, joined “Arizona Horizon” to take a closer look at what constitutes infrastructure, ways to improve or repair infrastructure and also how improving infrastructure makes it easier for businesses and residents to conserve water or make it less likely that we’ll use more water than we need.
Study on tap water affordability promising for low-income areas – March 10, 2025
The Kyl Center for Water Policy recently released a study on tap water affordability in Arizona. The study assessed the rates of 659 water providers across the state against two metrics of affordability.
The study found most water systems could increase their rates and stay affordable for homes in low-income areas. The findings also showed in Arizona the monthly costs for tap water are much lower than monthly costs for electric power.
Grant Heminger, Policy and Research Analyst at the Kyl Center for Water Policy, joined “Arizona Horizon” to discuss.
Where does the Colorado River water go? – June 17, 2024
A study done in 2020 by NAU is being updated to include a comprehensive look at where water from the Colorado River is going. According to the research, the river loses 19.3 million acre-feet of water each year to cities, farms and evaporation, and the water cycle can’t keep up.
This shortage of water triggered a formal declaration of a Tier 1 water shortage beginning in 2021, resulting in cuts in water deliveries, especially for Arizona farmers.
Richard Rushforth, NAU Assistant Research Professor, joined “Arizona Horizon” to discuss the research.
Colorado River basin states try to come up with a solution to water sharing – February 5, 2026
Governors of Colorado basin states have been battling back and forth over a solution to water sharing. Still, they are without a solution.
Basin states remain divided over whether the downstream states of Arizona, California, and Nevada must limit their current water supply to ensure that upstream states like Colorado, Utah, New Mexico and Wyoming can grow using supplies that were promised a century ago, but stripped by climate change.
Tom Buschatzke, Director of the Arizona Department of Water Resources, joined “Arizona Horizon” to discuss the ongoing negotiations.
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