When the Center for the Future of Arizona (CFA) asked Arizona voters to choose from a broad list of issues the single top issue facing the state, more voters selected long-term water supplies than any other issue on the list. Water supply is a major concern across political affiliations and age groups.

Most days, the university's water system goes unnoticed. Employees fill water bottles, researchers conduct experiments, buildings stay cool and comfortable, and native plants thrive, all without a second thought. But behind each of those moments is a carefully managed network of wells, reclaimed water, monitoring systems and stormwater infrastructure designed to make every drop count.

On August 13, 2026, the WRRC hosted a Water Webinar, A Guide to Key Findings of the Arizona Tri-University Recharge and Water Reliability (ATUR) Project Report, featuring five researchers from the U of A, Arizona State University (ASU), and Northern Arizona University (NAU). Presenters included Neha Gupta, Kathy Jacobs, Caelum Mroczek, Abe Springer, and Tianfang Xu.

WRRC Director Sharon B. Megdal participated as an invited panelist at The Global Future of Southern Arizona: Partnership, Trade & Growth Luncheon on August 18, 2026, in Tucson. Hosted by Global Ties Arizona and moderated by Nicole Barraza, Vice President of the Southern Arizona Leadership Council, the event explored the partnerships, connections, and resources shaping the region’s future.

A new research article, published in the August 2026 issue of Groundwater for Sustainable Development, highlights the role water banking can play in strengthening groundwater supplies during drought and under a changing climate.

On July 31, 2026, the US Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) released the Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) for the Post-2026 Operational Guidelines and Strategies for Lake Powell and Lake Mead. The FEIS describes the proposed new guidelines and coordinated management strategies that will take effect when the current agreements expire at the end of 2026.

This month, the Arizona Department of Water Resources (ADWR) approved Tucson Water’s assured water supply (AWS) designation for the next ten years, determining that Tucson residents would have at least 166,000 acre-feet of water annually for the next century.

The Water & Tribes Initiative (WTI) recently published a new policy brief, titled Tribal Sovereignty in the Colorado River Basin and Beyond. It begins by placing Tribal sovereignty in historical context, noting that “Native peoples have existed within self-governing political communities in North America for a very long time—millennia before Europeans arrived on the continent.”

On Thursday, July 16, a Growing Water Smart Peer Network Webinar featured a discussion of “Colorado River Negotiations.” Hosted by the Sonoran Institute and the Babbitt Center for Land and Water Policy, the webinar was co-sponsored by the WRRC and the Colorado Water Center at Colorado State University. WRRC Director Sharon B. Megdal and Karen Schlatter, Director of the Colorado Water Center at Colorado State University, provided presentations followed by a question-and-answer session with attendees.