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A Tucson Clean and Beautiful volunteer is putting mulch around a new tree in a neighborhood in South Tucson on Saturday, Dec. 17th. The mulch helps protect the tree from the harsh desert climate.

60,000 trees planted since start of Tucson Million Trees program

Tucson Mayor Regina Romero announced the program in 2020 and hopes to reach the goal by 2030.
After two decades of drought, parts of Lake Mead that were once underwater have been exposed as the lake falls to historically low levels.

More questions than answers at Colorado River water meetings

Talk at sessions Wednesday and Thursday has focused on cooperation between users to solve shortages.
Water levels in Lake Powell, seen here in May 2021, are dipping dangerously low. The federal government has proposed an unprecedented plan to cut back on water supplies for Arizona, Nevada and California. The measure aims to keep water levels high enough to generate hydropower at the Glen Canyon Dam.

The Buzz: Looking back on 2022

Newsworthy interviews and topics that we addressed this year.
Climate change has cut deep into the Southwest's water supply, and policymakers in the seven states that share the river have failed to agree on a plan to significantly reduce demand. That has left Lake Powell, held back by Glen Canyon Dam, at less than a quarter of its capacity.

The “power of aridity” is bringing a Colorado River dam to its knees

The Glen Canyon Dam faces threats that could soon render it useless after decades as a symbol of American engineering achievement.
The Verde River near the site of a dam that was removed in 2022.

The Buzz takes a trip down the Verde River

Meet a man who has made saving this unique waterway his life's work
This yard in Mesa was converted to desert landscaping under the city’s Grass-to-Xeriscape incentive program. September 2022.

As the drought grinds on, Maricopa County homeowners take advantage of xeriscape incentives

Megadrought and low runoff conditions accelerated by climate change have resulted in record low water levels in Lakes Powell and Mead
A Mount Graham Red Squirrel.

Population increase for endangered red squirrels in Arizona

State Game and Fish Department officials said that the annual survey estimates that there currently are 156 of the rare squirrels, up from 109 last year.
Lee's Ferry, pictured here, serves as the point where negotiators of the Colorado River Compact divided the river into two basins.

The Colorado River Compact turns 100 years old

The question is, is it still working?
After two decades of drought, parts of Lake Mead that were once underwater have been exposed as the lake falls to historically low levels.

Deadline approaching for drought financial relief

The federal goverment has money available to offset the cost of the drought.
Since the 1980s Tucsonans have replaced their green lawns with decomposed granite and opted for plants like palo verde trees and cacti, which can endure long periods of drought and extreme heat.

Phoenix and Las Vegas agree to get rid of decorative grass

The worsening drought brought the agreement from 30 western water agencies.
The Central Arizona Project moves water from the Colorado River to southern Arizona. July 2021

Ex-Reclamation commissioner to head CAP

Burman led the Bureau of Reclamation from 2017 to early 2021 under the Trump administration.
Water levels are at record lows and still dropping in the nation's largest reservoirs. The federal government began the process of restricting water releases from Glen Canyon Dam, which holds back a shrinking Lake Powell.

Feds want the ability to cut back on Colorado River reservoir releases over the next two years

On Friday, the Interior Department began the process of revising existing guidelines for water management in the Colorado River basin.
A canal carries water from the Colorado River to tribal land in Arizona.

Lower Colorado River reservoir evaporation the focus of new analysis

If implemented in its current form, the proposal would translate to significant cutbacks for users in Nevada, Arizona, and California.
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.
Michael Connor, assistant secretary for the Army for Civil Works, back to camera, Tempe water engineering manager Mark Weber and U.S. Rep. Greg Stanton, D-Phoenix, gather Sept. 1, 2022, in front of the Kyrene Water Reclamation Facility. Stanton is working to secure $37.5 million in federal funds to rehabilitate the plant.

Tempe plans to reopen long dormant water reclamation plant amid grinding drought

The recession caused its closure but the drought is changing plans.
Reductions to Arizona's Colorado River supply, including water delivered by the Central Arizona Project, are issued starting in January 2022. The first-ever cutbacks will mean less available for underground storage.

Tucson gives up some CAP water for cash

City will still get its daily need, but less surplus.

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