New Arizona Water Innovation Initiative year in review highlights our impact

The Arizona Water Innovation Initiative (AWII), led by Arizona State University’s Julie Ann Wrigley Global Futures Laboratory in collaboration with the Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering, officially launched in April 2023.

In the first year of this multi-year, $40 million investment by the state of Arizona — alongside a $5 million gift from the Virginia G. Piper Charitable Trust — AWII has strengthened Arizona’s water resilience through technological developments, applied research, partnerships and community engagement.

The Initiative is bringing the unmatched power of ASU’s innovative approach to research and action to one of the most critical issues facing Arizona. We are pursuing work in five strategic priority areas, organized by pillars, that leverage support across the campus and state:

• Improving water efficiency and quality with technology
• Revolutionizing water measurement, modeling and prediction
• Measurably advancing water security in Arizona’s most water-insecure households
• Catalyzing community understanding, engagement and capacity
• Building consensus on sound water stewardship

Our new 2023 year in review outlines how we are working within each of these priority areas. Highlights from our first year include:

• Innovating water treatment practices for the semiconductor industry
• Equipping leaders to adapt to climate change impacts on the Colorado River with key data and tools
• Establishing a statewide network to support water-insecure communities
• Creating and piloting a collaborative, community-led rural groundwater management scenario planning process for agricultural communities
• Developing an analysis of water affordability in northern Arizona communities

The Initiative also includes a growing list of partners. We are working with industrial, municipal, agricultural, tribal and international collaborators to collectively develop water solutions. For example, we drew on ASU’s convening power to offer neutral ground to evaluate innovative water solutions on challenges including rural groundwater and desalination.

Through meaningful inclusive engagement, our team is linking knowledge with action to inform decision making and enhance societal outcomes by leveraging expertise, research and networks.

In 2024, we are prioritizing research, technology transfer, policy development and community engagement. We look forward to continuing our support of water resilience projects in key areas such as groundwater management in rural areas and active management areas, developing a sustainable management framework for the Colorado River and ensuring safe and clean drinking water for residents of the state.

To stay up to date with AWII activities and find water information you can trust, visit our website, sign up for our mailing list to receive our newsletter and blog post roundup or attend one of our events. We invite you to join in this shared effort to drive a thriving water future through discovery, innovation and action, for the benefit of all of Arizona. 

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