"We are not in that dire situation we were facing then," said Sarah Porter, director of the Kyl Center for Water Policy. "What we thought we needed back in 2022 was emergency funding. This year, it so far hasn’t been a very good winter" for river replenishment. "But we are not in the same situation today as we were then."

“The biggest source of depletion is agriculture. So shifting water use from agriculture to a lower water use … is a good thing for water supply,” said Sarah Porter, director of the Kyl Center for Water Policy at Arizona State University’s Morrison Institute for Public Policy. “But there are formulations of the ag-to urban transfer that don’t, over the long term, protect the aquifer. So it will be important to come up with a formulation that actually benefits the aquifers.”

“Variability is kind of a hallmark of the Western climate,” Sarah Porter said. “Long stretches without rain and then very, very wet years punctuated by springs of dry years is typical.”

Sarah Porter, director of the Kyl Center for Water Policy at Arizona State University, then spoke about water challenges being faced in Arizona, with an emphasis on ways citizens can make conscious choices to support water preservation. 

"They're absolutely at an impasse," Sarah Porter said of the upper and lower basins. "They seem to be so far apart and there doesn't seem to be any path to coming to agreement at this point."

The first panel, titled “Western U.S. Development Trends and Water-Energy Solutions,” was moderated by Kathryn Sorenson, director of research at the Kyl Center for Water Policy at the Morrison Institute for Public Policy. 

Based on modeling by ASU, the first two phases of Dude Fire restoration should send about 174 acre-feet more water in the first year toward reservoirs and supply lines, according to SRP. “Typically, you will see water benefits persist anywhere from seven to 10 years,” Barton said, citing the ASU model projections.

"Over the years, so much of that groundwater has been quote allocated, that more has been allocated than is physically available," said Kathleen Ferris, a senior research fellow at ASU's Kyl Center for Water Policy and former Department of Water Resources director. "That creates an unmet demand, in other words, it's a deficit of groundwater."

“They’re everywhere. If you use nonstick appliances, if you have Scotchgard on your couches, it’s often used in making more flame retardant materials, so frequently in your clothing,” Rhett Larson said.

“It is increasingly important to understand who is affected, how, and why — and what solutions exist for people whose water needs cannot be met by large-scale infrastructure investments alone,” Amber Wutich wrote.