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Jessie Dwyer, biodiversity manager at McDowell Sonoran Conservancy, demonstrates how a transmitter and GPS tracker are affixed to the wild tortoises in the study. Photo taken Sept. 30, 2022, in Scottsdale.

Slow, steady and high tech: Study using GPS to track Sonoran desert tortoises

Sonoran desert tortoises can hold water for up to a year, Rubke said. That matters given that Arizona is in a megadrought.
Strong Arm, a well-known saguaro cactus in the Tortolita Preserve near Marana, was estimated to be 150 to 200 years old and 40 feet tall when it toppled during an August storm. But the actual cause of death was Erwinia cacticida, a bacteria that causes saguaros to rot and ooze a thick, black liquid.

Iconic Strong Arm was one of many saguaros killed by climate change, deadly bacteria

For close to two centuries, Strong Arm stood sentinel over the Tortolita Preserve near Marana.
Fencing and signs like these near Dragoon, Arizona, aim to keep people away from some of the state’s estimated 100,000 abandoned mines. Minerals from such mines, many abandoned decades before environmental laws imposed clean-up requirements on mine owners, can leach out and pose a threat to nearby waterways. (File photo by Nicole Neri/ Cronkite News)

‘Good Samaritan’ bill aims to allow cleanup of abandoned, leaking mines

A bill in Congress could help Arizona clean up old mines.
The Central Tucson Groundwater Treatment System, located near Davis Monthan Air Force Base, removes PFAS contaminates from the aquifer below the area.

The Buzz: Dealing with Arizona's PFAS problem

Why are the chemical class also known as forever chemicals so dangerous, and what's being done to fix the problem?
The Milky Way seen from Reddington Pass east of Tucson. May 2022

First-ever 'Oracle Dark Sky Cultural Festival' is this week

Residents embrace the economic boost to the town.
An ore cart, encrusted in invasive mussel shells, rests on a ledge above a receding Lake Powell.

‘It’s getting close’: As the megadrought grinds on, Arizona working to meet water demands

Satellite photos show a dramatic change.
A diamondback rattlesnake flicks its tongue.

Rattlesnakes and toads out during monsoon season

Herpatologists get plenty of rattlesnake calls in August.
Treated wastewater, like this sample in Carson, California, could soon become a bigger part of the West's water portfolio. Cities in the drought-stricken Colorado River basin are putting big money behind project

Water managers see promise in recycling sewage

It could be a solution for the shrinking Colorado River
A vacant lot is used as a place to stack and assemble sandbags for use by residents whose properties are at risk of flooding.

The Buzz: A strong monsoon brings road closures and floods

Why does some infrastructure get overwhelmed by above-average summer rain?

Aerial spraying to combat buffelgrass coming to Saguaro NP Wednesday

Aerial spray will target areas of high spread, while other treatments continue to be used in less affected areas.
Lake Mead’s light-colored “bathtub ring” of mineral deposits towers above a speeding boat on June 29, 2022, near Hoover Dam.

No firm new deadline for Colorado River basin states’ conservation plans

The seven states that rely on the river blew past an August 16 deadline without a plan to conserve 2 to 4 million acre-feet of water.
Glen Canyon Dam holds back Lake Powell, the nation's second-largest reservoir on the Colorado River. The lake is currently at 28% of its capacity.

Tucson Water plans for future

The utility held a town hall after Colorado River cuts announced.

Oil spill stopped from reaching tributary on Navajo Nation

Up to 80 barrels of brine water were released.
The seven states in the Colorado River basin couldn't agree on a plan to conserve unprecedented amounts of water before a federal deadline. Meanwhile, grim projections for the future of water levels in Lake Mead have forced mandatory cuts to water for some users in the lower basin. Federal authorities are trying to prop up levels in the nation's largest reservoir before they dip too low to generate hydropower or allow the passage of water.

Colorado River states fail to meet federal deadline on restricting water use

Arizona will lose 21% of its Colorado River allotment next year.
Lake Mead and the rest of the Colorado River system are shrinking rapidly. The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation has called for new conservation measures, asking states to conserve a tremendously large amount of water, and giving them a 60-day timeline to formulate a plan for those reductions.

More water cuts coming to Arizona

The federal Bureau of Reclamation has announced how much Colorado River water the state will give up.
Michelle Peters fills a glass with freshly desalinated ocean water at Poseidon Water's Carlsbad plant. Using reverse osmosis, the facility creates about 10% of San Diego County's freshwater supply.

The Southwest is running out of fresh water. Could the ocean provide a cure?

Arizona and other states are looking at the use of desalination plants.

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