The UA’s Water Resources Research Center (WRRC) has just released the tenth installment of its Arizona Water Factsheet series. This factsheet, for Yuma County, outlines some of the conditions that support the agricultural industry in Arizona — specifically, the county’s proximity to the historical floodplains of the Lower Colorado and Gila Rivers, agricultural advancements, and priority entitlements to Colorado River water. It also summarizes the county’s water supply and demand, sustainable water management strategies, and regulatory context that determines potential future impacts related to continued drought and reductions to Colorado River water.
The factsheet was developed with the support of a local Technical Advisory Committee (TAC), which helped provide local insight to contextualize existing water-related data. The TAC — led by Russ Engel, UA Yuma County Cooperative Extension Director, and Meghan Scott, Attorney at Noble Law — included representatives from Yuma County, the Bureau of Reclamation, Yuma County Water Users Association, and Wellton-Mohawk Irrigation District. Additional municipal, academic, and federal stakeholders provided input based on their deep local knowledge about the county’s water resources and management.