Tapped

Arizona’s economy runs on growth–more people moving here, and more companies coming with them. But as the state is forced to make cuts in its water usage, it will have to reconsider what the housing developments built to accommodate that growth look like and even how many more people it can realistically handle.

Many communities along the U.S.-Mexico border share aquifers, and that works better for some states and cities than others. In this collaboration with the Texas Water Resources Institute, we compare how those relationships work in Texas and Arizona.

We're taking a short break this week, but come back on Monday, August 22 for stories about water on the border.

Tucson made big changes that had big impacts on its water consumption. What else could it do if it can pull off more shifts like this?

Poor water practices made the Santa Cruz River practically disappear, but new efforts have some water flowing again. And when there’s water in the desert, life follows quickly. Animals and plants that used to rely on the river are returning, sometimes with the help of scientists.

For a place with a desert climate, Southern Arizona can be surprisingly green. The state plays a big role in providing Americans with fresh greens year-round, and its farmers are feeling the pressure to keep that going while cutting down on water. It’s also not an easy place to start farming from scratch.

The Tohono O’odham Nation and its predecessors, the Huhugam, have used canals to move water around Southern Arizona for millenia. As settlers arrived, they dug deep and changed the face of water management in the area, drying up rivers and tightening resources. Now, the Tohono O’odham Nation is looking into older practices around water and bringing some back into the fold.

Wildfire seasons are growing longer and doing more damage in the American West. The City of Bisbee’s water system for fighting fires is so antiquated that it’s slowing the fire department down and causing more destruction. Town leaders are working to get money for a new system that wouldn’t just prepare Bisbee to fight major fires, but also bring its water infrastructure on the whole up to speed.

Introducing Tapped, a podcast where we tell our stories - the stories of people living with the cost of drought in the Southwest, and what we can do to mitigate it.