The Kyl Center for Water Policy at ASU’s Morrison Institute just released a report entitled, “Groundwater Protection in the Valley of the Sun: Past, Present & Future.” The report outlines groundwater management practices in the Phoenix AMA and lists the following major findings:
- Arizona’s rules allowing development on groundwater have disincentivized investments
needed for long-term water resilience in the Phoenix AMA. - Unless aquifer recharge and replenishment occur closer to areas of groundwater decline,
the aquifer in these areas will likely be lost — meaning that aquifer layers will subside
and compact. - Colorado River supply cuts will exacerbate these problems.
- Remarkable investments in aquifer protection in the Valley of the Sun were made in the
past: it is possible to uphold and improve these protections.