Sarah Porter, the Director of the Kyl Center for Water Policy at Arizona State University, joins Royal Norman for an in-depth discussion on the complexities of water management in Arizona, discussing the role of the Kyl Center, groundwater issues, aquifer recharge, and the challenges facing the Colorado River. They also examine the positive strides Arizona has made in water stewardship and the innovative proposals to ensure a sustainable water future for the state.

The state of Arizona is home to 22 tribal nations — and all of them have a deep connection to water. However, many tribes are being left out of conversations surrounding the topic. Liliana Caughman, an assistant professor in the American Indian Studies program at Arizona State University, is working to change that.

Through her lab, the Relate Lab, eight Indigenous scholars are working alongside the Arizona Water Innovation Initiative at ASU and their WaterSimmersive project to create water-related exhibits in rural communities throughout Arizona.

Flood irrigation is cited as a major problem in new research by NASA and Arizona State University. "It was surprising for us, actually, because we found groundwater is being used up much faster than we are expecting," said Karem Abdelmohsen, an ASU research scientist. Abdelmohsen stated that researchers used the GRACE satellite to track groundwater in the Colorado River Basin for more than 20 years.

A study led by a team at Arizona State University found four continental-scale “mega-drying” regions located in the northern hemisphere that could have significant consequences for water security, agriculture and sea levels. “These findings send perhaps the most alarming message yet about the impact of climate change on our water resources,” said Jay Famiglietti, the study’s principal investigator. 

“It is striking how much non-renewable water we are losing,” lead author Hrishikesh Chandanpurkar, a research scientist at Arizona State, said in a statement.

“Glaciers and deep groundwater are sort of ancient trust funds,” he added. “Instead of using them only in times of need such as a prolonged drought, we are taking them for granted.”

The scientists behind the study said that bad management of groundwater resources is the main culprit together with the effects of climate change, such as lengthy droughts in Europe and permafrost melt in Arctic regions.

Arizona State University hydrologist Jay Famiglietti presented over two decades of satellite data, which revealed the sharp and sustained decline of groundwater resources in the Southwest, especially in the Colorado River Basin, where groundwater is disappearing 2.5 times faster than surface water. To mitigate groundwater depletion, Famiglietti suggested implementing sustainable sub-basin water management policies and incentives that reward efficient irrigation practices by farmers.

“These findings send perhaps the most alarming message yet about the impact of climate change on our water resources,” said Jay Famiglietti. “Continents are drying, freshwater availability is shrinking, and sea level rise is accelerating.”

According to lead researcher Jay Famiglietti: “These findings send perhaps the most alarming message yet about the impact of climate change on our water resources…Continents are drying, freshwater availability is shrinking, and sea level rise is accelerating. The consequences of continued groundwater overuse could undermine food and water security for billions of people around the world. This is an ‘all-hands-on-deck’ moment — we need immediate action on global water security.”

Jay Famiglietti at Arizona State University and his colleagues used gravity measurements from satellites to estimate changes in the total amount of water mass stored on the continents. That includes all forms of freshwater, from rivers and underground aquifers to glaciers and ice sheets.