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Weather and Climate

After two decades of drought, parts of Lake Mead that were once underwater have been exposed as the lake falls to historically low levels.

Deadline approaching for drought financial relief

Nov 28, 2022 The federal goverment has money available to offset the cost of the drought.
Lee's Ferry, pictured here, serves as the point where negotiators of the Colorado River Compact divided the river into two basins.

The Colorado River Compact turns 100 years old

Nov 28, 2022 The question is, is it still working?
Since the 1980s Tucsonans have replaced their green lawns with decomposed granite and opted for plants like palo verde trees and cacti, which can endure long periods of drought and extreme heat.

Phoenix and Las Vegas agree to get rid of decorative grass

Nov 18, 2022 The worsening drought brought the agreement from 30 western water agencies.
The Central Arizona Project moves water from the Colorado River to southern Arizona. July 2021

Ex-Reclamation commissioner to head CAP

Nov 5, 2022 Burman led the Bureau of Reclamation from 2017 to early 2021 under the Trump administration.
Water levels are at record lows and still dropping in the nation's largest reservoirs. The federal government began the process of restricting water releases from Glen Canyon Dam, which holds back a shrinking Lake Powell.

Feds want the ability to cut back on Colorado River reservoir releases over the next two years

Oct 28, 2022 On Friday, the Interior Department began the process of revising existing guidelines for water management in the Colorado River basin.
A canal carries water from the Colorado River to tribal land in Arizona.

Lower Colorado River reservoir evaporation the focus of new analysis

Oct 27, 2022 If implemented in its current form, the proposal would translate to significant cutbacks for users in Nevada, Arizona, and California.
Strong Arm, a well-known saguaro cactus in the Tortolita Preserve near Marana, was estimated to be 150 to 200 years old and 40 feet tall when it toppled during an August storm. But the actual cause of death was Erwinia cacticida, a bacteria that causes saguaros to rot and ooze a thick, black liquid.

Iconic Strong Arm was one of many saguaros killed by climate change, deadly bacteria

Oct 15, 2022 For close to two centuries, Strong Arm stood sentinel over the Tortolita Preserve near Marana.
Michael Connor, assistant secretary for the Army for Civil Works, back to camera, Tempe water engineering manager Mark Weber and U.S. Rep. Greg Stanton, D-Phoenix, gather Sept. 1, 2022, in front of the Kyrene Water Reclamation Facility. Stanton is working to secure $37.5 million in federal funds to rehabilitate the plant.

Tempe plans to reopen long dormant water reclamation plant amid grinding drought

Oct 10, 2022 The recession caused its closure but the drought is changing plans.
Monsoon rain over Tucson.

2022 "Monsoon Madness" names a decisive winner

Oct 6, 2022 The victor successfully predicted rainfall totals during another active season.
Reductions to Arizona's Colorado River supply, including water delivered by the Central Arizona Project, are issued starting in January 2022. The first-ever cutbacks will mean less available for underground storage.

Tucson gives up some CAP water for cash

Sep 21, 2022 City will still get its daily need, but less surplus.
An ore cart, encrusted in invasive mussel shells, rests on a ledge above a receding Lake Powell.

‘It’s getting close’: As the megadrought grinds on, Arizona working to meet water demands

Sep 18, 2022 Satellite photos show a dramatic change.
Garnett Querta fills his water truck from a fire hydrant on the Hualapai reservation Monday, Aug. 15, 2022, in Peach Springs, Ariz. The water pulled from the ground here will be piped dozens of miles across the rugged landscape to serve the roughly 600,000 tourists a year who visit the Grand Canyon on the Hualapai reservation in northwestern Arizona — an operation that's the tribe's main source of revenue.

State of unease: Colorado basin tribes without water rights

Sep 16, 2022 Hualapai tribal land in northwestern Arizona borders 100 miles of the Colorado River, but the tribe can't draw from it.
Treated wastewater, like this sample in Carson, California, could soon become a bigger part of the West's water portfolio. Cities in the drought-stricken Colorado River basin are putting big money behind project

Water managers see promise in recycling sewage

Sep 15, 2022 It could be a solution for the shrinking Colorado River
The sun sets over Tucson in July 2020, which was the hottest July on record.

Climate tool brings the bad news

Sep 11, 2022 Advocates hope that brings good outcomes
A vacant lot is used as a place to stack and assemble sandbags for use by residents whose properties are at risk of flooding.

The Buzz: A strong monsoon brings road closures and floods

Sep 9, 2022 Why does some infrastructure get overwhelmed by above-average summer rain?
Monsoon rainshower.

Monsoon madness reaches final weeks

Sep 6, 2022 Amateur forecasters are predicting Southwest rainfall totals for the second straight year.

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