Water wisdom following the new Colorado River framework

Everyone is a water stakeholder, according to Sharon Megdal, director of the University of Arizona’s Water Resources Research Center, WRRC for short.

“But people tend to take water for granted. So, the WRRC does a lot of work to get information out to help people understand the water situation, the associated challenges, potential solutions and tradeoffs,” she said.

Megdal spoke with Lo Que Pasa to provide insight and water-saving tips in the wake of the recently approved 10-year Decision Framework for water allocations from the Colorado River, which provides water to the seven basin states. More than 40 million people rely on the river for drinking water, agricultural irrigation, power generation, wildlife habitat and more.

What should readers know about the new framework for Colorado River water?

The Bureau of Reclamation’s Aug. 21 decision framework outlines river operations for the next two years and then guidelines for reestablishing a plan for the river every two years after that based on ongoing negotiations. 

The plan reduces Arizona's water deliveries by 760,000 acre-feet. For context, one acre foot is enough water to cover an acre of land in one foot of water. 

There will likely be an additional voluntary reduction beyond this through conservation. 

Colorado River water is delivered to Tucson via the Central Arizona Project, or CAP. Tucson Water has been storing its CAP allocations in underground aquifers for current use, with some stored for the future, like a savings account. So, the water delivered to customers is a mixture of river water and ambient groundwater. 

These cuts are not as deep as they could have been and Tucson Water has been preparing situations such as this, but the key message is that we all need to be good stewards of water. 

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Note: Megdal served on the CAP board from 2009-2020. Read her Arizona Daily Star opinion piece about the current situation.

Tucson is often lauded for being water savvy. While our population has grown over the decades, our water usage has not. Some have eliminated lawns, installed water efficient appliances or cut back on meat consumption. What other actions might you recommend?

Tucson has a history of being very water conscious, and we’ve been at the forefront of low-water-use landscaping and use of recycled water for golf courses, for example. 

But it’s important that we do not rest on our laurels. 

With people regularly moving to the Tucson region, we can't assume everybody has received the same water-saving messaging. It’s a continuous job of all of ours to keep the water situation at the forefront. 

A few other things people can do include:

• Installing low-flow toilets and high-pressure aerators for faucets
• Installing gutters and cisterns, and digging swales in their yards to collect rainwater 
• Using a drip system with a sensor
• Watering plants in the morning or evening to limit evaporation

Some people point out that agricultural use far outpaces residential, but no matter what, with the Colorado River water cuts, there may be reductions to water available to utility providers. Water users are going to have to tighten their metaphorical belts and possibly pay more for water as utilities look to alternative supplies, such as high-level wastewater treatment for potable use.

What are some recent examples of how the WRRC serves the community?

We recently published water conservation fact sheets to provide helpful information to small-community water providers and customers, well users, rural industrial water facilities, small-scale farmers, and riparian areas and streams. 

Next, we plan on partnering with the Office of Sustainability to develop a fact sheet for our students, especially because many of them are new to desert living. They might not be that familiar with water conservation messaging, like turning off the water while brushing your teeth or limiting shower length.

Established under the 1964 Federal Water Resources Research Act, the WRRC was tasked with conducting water research, analysis and outreach. The center’s team provides water news and information to the academic community, water professionals, elected and appointed officials, students and the public; disseminating information via publications, conferences, lectures, seminars and more. It is a Cooperative Extension center and a research unit in the College of Agriculture, Life and Environmental Sciences.