Shriya Danekar, an undergraduate environmental engineering student, used her Grand Challenges Scholars Program research stipend to explore her passion for sustainability. Danekar aims to improve the management of the limited water resources in the western U.S. under the supervision of Margaret Garcia, a Fulton Schools associate professor of civil, environmental and sustainable engineering.

"Earth only has three main reservoirs for water storage, namely, the continents, the oceans, and the atmosphere," Prof Jay Famiglietti, another of the study's authors, tells BBC Science Focus. "But the water holding capacity of the atmosphere is insignificant compared to the land and the oceans, so that when water leaves the land, it ends up collecting in the ocean." The result: a drying trend that hasn’t reversed.

“Really bad. … Really bad.” That was the response I got from water policy veteran Kathy Ferris when I asked how bad things could shake out in negotiations on Colorado River management. In a recent phone call on the topic, ASU water expert Sarah Porter nearly mirrored Ferris’ words. “Things could end up… not good… very not good.”

The Arizona Water Innovation Initiative at ASU, whose mission is to provide immediate, actionable and evidence-solutions to strengthen Arizona’s water security, has already experienced great success since its 2022 debut. To date, the initiative has patented technologies, strengthened the state’s water policies toward conservation and empowered communities with a greater understanding of Arizona’s water challenges.

Arizona State University professor Dave White, who chairs the Phoenix Water and Wastewater Advisory Committee, also praised the work that went into the new impact fee increases.

While we were out, ASU recapped last month’s Rethinking Water West conference, where a panel explored AI’s growing role in water management. Ruijie Zeng, an assistant professor at ASU, predicted water utilities “will become more of a service provider than a commodity provider” thanks to AI.

“I don’t think we should be looking for any break in the severity of what we’re experiencing,” Jay Famiglietti, a professor and climate researcher at Arizona State University, told Courthouse News in December. “It’s only gonna continue and it’s only gonna get worse.”

Dave White, an Arizona State University professor and chair of the Phoenix Water Policy Advisory Committee, said the impact fees "are equitable and allow growth to pay for growth.”

“Is the increase in tax revenue and the relatively paltry number of jobs worth the water?” said Kathryn Sorensen, an Arizona State University professor and a former director of Mesa’s water department. “It is incumbent on city councils to think very carefully and examine the trade-offs.”

Water is a top-of-mind issue for many Arizonans, between debates over the future of the Colorado River and groundwater and conversations about the possibility of augmenting our water supply. But, Amber Wutich, an anthropologist and ASU professor, says these discussions are not just physical science ones, but social science ones, as well.