How Arizona should pay for its water future

By Stephen Richer and Josh Heywood

Originally published in the Arizona Republic · September 2, 2026

The federal government announced new Colorado River guidelines. The outcome presents a serious challenge for Arizona, but it’s not the worst-case scenario. To face these cuts, Arizona needs a significant, stable funding source for water development in our state budget.

The Colorado River supplies about one-third of Arizona’s water. But the river isn’t what it once was. At least 10 percent of its natural flow has vanished since 2000 because of drought and rising temperatures. Cuts were inevitable.

Under the new guidelines, Arizona will bear 61 percent of the mandatory reductions assigned to the three Lower Basin states ― more than California and Nevada combined. Arizona’s full allocation of 2.8 million acre-feet will be reduced by 760,000 acre-feet to 2.04 million acre-feet.

Meanwhile, the Upper Basin states of Colorado, Utah, Wyoming and New Mexico get off virtually scot-free.

That imbalance is hard to justify, given that Arizona has one of the nation’s strongest records of water conservation. Our overall water consumption today, with 7.7 million people, is roughly the same as it was nearly 70 years ago, when we had approximately 1.1 million residents.

Read the full piece at the Arizona Republic →

Go deeper: see our fact page on data centers in Arizona and why Arizona’s growth matters.