Sharon B. Megdal

Director, Water Resources Research Center (WRRC)

Water Resources Research Center, The University of Arizona, 350 N. Campbell Ave., Tucson, AZ 85719 USA

520-621-9591
smegdal@arizona.edu

Documents

Megdal-CV-07-01-25.pdf
Megdal-Bio-07-01-25.pdf

Sharon B. Megdal, Ph.D. is Director of the University of Arizona Water Resources Research Center (WRRC), a Cooperative Extension center and a research unit in the College of Agriculture, Life & Environmental Sciences. Other primary titles are Professor and Specialist in the Department of Environmental Science, C.W. & Modene Neely Endowed Professor, and Distinguished Outreach Professor. 

Sharon Megdal bridges the academic, practitioner, and civil society communities through water policy and management research, education, and engagement programs. The geographic scope of Dr. Megdal’s work ranges from local to international. Applied research projects include analysis of water management, policy, and governance in water-scarce regions and transboundary aquifer assessment. 

Sharon Megdal is the lead editor of the book, Shared Borders, Shared Waters: Israeli-Palestinian and Colorado River Basin Water Challenges, and she has guest edited several special journal issues. Dr. Megdal teaches the graduate course “Water Policy in Arizona and Semi-arid Regions”. In 2020, she was awarded the Warren A. Hall Medal for lifetime achievement in water resources research and education by the Universities Council on Water Resources, and in 2024 she was named a fellow of the American Water Resources Association. 

Sharon Megdal serves on the Board of Governors for the Kasser Joint Institute for Food, Water, and Energy Security, the Leadership Team for the Colorado River Basin Water & Tribes Initiative, the Women in Water Diplomacy Network’s Global Leadership Council, and Governor Hobbs’ Water Policy Council. Past public service includes serving for 12 years as a popularly elected Director for the Central Arizona Project. Other past service includes serving as a member of the Arizona Corporation Commission, the State Transportation Board, and the Arizona Medical Board. Sharon Megdal holds a Ph.D. degree in Economics from Princeton University.

Publications

reflections 6-6-25 banner image

Reflections: Major Issues Await Action

Each Spring, I typically reflect separately upon take-aways from teaching the graduate seminar, Water Policy in Arizona and Semi-arid Regions, and from the WRRC’s Annual Conference. This year, I am combining them because our 2025 Annual Conference, Shared Borders, Shared Waters: Working Together in Times of Scarcity, was scheduled immediately after the semester ended. Frankly, the whirlwind of activities has left little time to reflect.

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photo collage 2025

Reflections: On World Water Day 2025 and Local to Global Engagement

March 22 is the annual World Water Day. Since 1993, the United Nations has designated this day to bring awareness to different aspects of freshwater availability. This year, the focus is on glacier preservation. The five most recent foci were leveraging water for peace, accelerating change, groundwater, valuing water, and water and climate change. For each World Water Day, a report is issued by the World Water Assessment Programme (WWAP). This year’s report, issued on March 21, 2025, can be found on WWAP’s website.

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water cover page

Prioritizing Transboundary Aquifers in the Arizona–Sonora Region: A Multicriteria Approach for Groundwater Assessment

Groundwater is vital to the well-being of over 20 million people in the nearly 2000-mile-long, arid U.S.–Mexico border region, supporting agricultural, industrial, domestic, and environmental needs. However, persistent droughts over the past two decades, coupled with increasing water demand and population growth, have significantly strained water resources, threatening the region’s water security.

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sharing the waters book cover

Guidance for Restoring Peace on the Colorado River

These are contentious times for Colorado River policy, with strained relations between the Upper and Lower Basin states in public view. It is, therefore, perfect timing for me to recommend adding the book, Sharing the Waters: Reflections on Developing Colorado River Policy 1988–2008, by Robert W. “Bob” Johnson, to your 2025 reading list.

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(L to R) GRIC Lt. Governor Regina Antone, AZ Governor Katie Hobbs, and GRIC Governor Stephen Roe Lewis. Image: Sharon B. Megdal

Reflections: Ending the Year on a Note of Optimism

On December 10, I attended the 20th anniversary Water Rights Day celebration of the Gila River Indian Community Water Rights Settlement. The settlement, which was a key component of the Arizona Water Settlements Act of 2004, quantified the annual water budget for the Gila River Indian Community (GRIC) at 653,500 acre-feet. 

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View of Curry Seed and Chile Co. in the Willcox Groundwater Basin.

Reflections: Groundwater at the Epicenter

Groundwater is in the news. In Arizona, attention is focused on rural groundwater, and the availability of groundwater in more populated parts of the state, including the Phoenix metropolitan region, is likewise receiving attention.

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