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John Farley, director of fire test operations at the Naval Research Laboratory, tests the effectiveness of aqueous film-forming foam by spraying it on a gasoline fire. The test took place at the laboratory in Chesapeake Beach, Md. Oct. 25, 2019.

PFAS water pollution pilot project opens in Tucson

State funded project is designed to combat ground water pollution north of Air Force base.

Adia Barnes on Teamwork and Motherhood.

Also on Arizona Spotlight:Can new technology save water on farms? Plus Chris Dashiell remembers Peter Bogdanovich, and a short story read by author Michelle Ross.
In Central Arizona, the future of homes and farms relies on water stored underground. Some experts say that supply can't sustainably meet demand in the long term, especially as the population grows and the total water supply shrinks.

With less water on the surface, how long can Arizona rely on what's underground?

Some experts say aquifers are overtaxed and shouldn’t be seen as a long-term solution for a region where the water supply is expected to shrink in the decades to come.
The sun shines harshly behind a saguaro cactus.

Last year was fifth-warmest recorded in Tucson

Each month was among the warmest in Tucson history except for July, when there was heavy rainfall during the monsoon season.
The Central Arizona Project moves water from the Colorado River to southern Arizona. July 2021

Water cutbacks coming to Arizona

A decades-long drought means less water from the Colorado River in 2022.
Whitset Pump House on the California side of Lake Havasu. Lake Havasu reservoir is formed by Parker Dam on the Colorado River, on the border between San Bernardino County, California and La Paz County, Arizona. The Whitsett Intake Pumping Plant is at the beginning of the Colorado River Aqueduct, a 242-mile aqueduct, which transports water from Lake Havasu to Lake Mathews in Riverside County.

Leading water experts explore the future of managing a shrinking water supply from the Colorado River

New report says the best water policies are borne out of a few driving factors.
Docent Sally Sherman gives a tour of the Watershed Management Group's Living Lab on December 4th, 2021. The tour shows participants how to conserve water through rainwater harvesting and other means.

Local organization gives tours showing how to conserve water

The group also helps homeowners navigate rebates and grants to defray the cost.
Representatives from lower Colorado River basin states, the federal government and tribes sign the new 500+ plan. The deal, formalized at the Colorado River Water Users Association conference in Las Vegas, allocates millions of dollars to help put water back into Lake Mead.

Lower basin states sign deal to put water back in Lake Mead amid dropping levels

Arizona, California, Nevada, and the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation are pooling more than $100 million dollars to incentivize reductions in water use.

Bill would allow Colorado River Indian tribes to lease water to other cities

The bill comes amid historic low levels in Lake Mead and as Arizona faces a harsh water future.
A file image of the Colorado River in Northern Arizona.

December has arrived but in much of the West, snowfall has not

In most of Arizona, Utah, and New Mexico, snowpack is only around a quarter or a third of normal.
A sprawling swath of the West is in drought, with more than 20 years of dryness in the Colorado River basin. Researchers say nearly every indicator of drought is heading in the wrong direction.

Drought monitors paint a bleak picture for the Colorado River

Four metrics are used to track drought, and they paint a bleak picture
The Grand Canyon.

US agency decides against flooding Grand Canyon amid drought

Agency officials said opening the bypass tubes at the Glen Canyon Dam would have reduced the elevation of Lake Powell at a time when it's at historic lows.
Outside the Tucson Water building in downtown Tucson.

$1.7M in Air Force funds go to Central Tucson PFAS project

Efforts to address the water contaminates via the project began in 2020.
Lake Mead outside Las Vegas, Nevada, serves as the Colorado River's largest reservoir and a key water source for Arizona, California, Nevada and Mexico.

Forecasters expect drier, warmer winter in Southwest

Drought conditions are expected to continue or worsen across Arizona over the coming months.
The so-called bathtub ring in Lake Mead.

Vice president visits Lake Mead

Vice President Kamala Harris surveyed drought conditions and made a case for the Biden Administration’s infrastructure plans.
Wendsler Nosie Sr. at Southside Presbyterian Church October 13, 2021, during Apache Stronghold's "spiritual convoy" to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit concerning their motion for Temporary Restraining order and preliminary injunction at Oak Flat.

Ahead of hearing on Oak Flat, a 'spiritual convoy' travels to court

The nonprofit Apache Stronghold is traveling to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in California to try and block copper mining at the Apache sacred site.

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