WRRC Water Webinar Explains Arizona Stream Adjudications
On Tuesday, September 16, 2025, the WRRC hosted a Water Webinar featuring Jennifer Wendel, Assistant Director of the Arizona Adjudications Project within the Natural Resource Use and Management Clinic at the University of Arizona College of Law. Through the clinic she manages, law students can earn class credit by providing outside counsel to individuals navigating the adjudication process, whereby a comprehensive review of each client’s citizens’ water rights is conducted to determine which documents are required to support their claims. Titled “An Overview and Update on Arizona’s General Stream Adjudications,” Wendel’s presentation aimed to help viewers understand a complicated process affecting many Arizonans and provided webinar attendees with a forum for sharing insights on the state’s water rights issues.
General stream adjudications are massive, complex court cases to determine the rights and priorities of surface water users. Arizona has two pending general stream adjudications: the Gila River Adjudication and the Little Colorado River Adjudication. This year marks 51 years of ongoing stream adjudication litigation in Arizona, during which about 80,000 claims have been filed. Even after decades of litigation, the state is still working through the process due to knotty problems, such as how to define subflow and how to determine what well water is considered surface water. During the presentation, Wendel provided a historical background of the proceedings, explained their purpose, and spoke about the current status of the Gila River and Little Colorado River Adjudications.
We encourage all to visit the webinar event page (and the links provided below) to learn more about this topic. We also invite you to register for even more engaging water webinars in the WRRC’s Fall 2025 series, such as “Laying Internet of Water Bricks: The Backend, Frontend and Everything in Between,” which will feature Internet of Water Director Kyle Onda. Register for this October 6 webinar and stay tuned for details on other upcoming webinars!