Arizona faces mounting water and affordability challenges. We need a new state budget that is up to the task.

The state of Arizona’s annual budget provides an important opportunity to invest in strengthening public water security and community resilience. While community leaders have made historic progress to protect their local water supplies through new groundwater protections for the first time ever in Cochise, La Paz and Mohave counties, much of Arizona still remains vulnerable to unlimited groundwater pumping. 

Intensifying challenges with significantly reduced Colorado River supplies (pictured above) are also compounding uncertainty for the state and its residents. If that is not enough, just last week, a superior court judge in Maricopa County issued a decision in favor of an industry lobby group that could jeopardize the state’s Assured Water Supply Program, a longstanding program that has protected millions of homeowners for decades in the initial active management areas mostly in the Phoenix and Tucson areas. 

We face unprecedented challenges in the months and years ahead. With rising costs squeezing more and more Arizona families, Arizona cannot afford to skimp on public water security investments, despite another challenging fiscal year.

Unfortunately, the state Legislature unilaterally advanced a partisan state budget earlier this week that does just that: skimps. For example, last month the Legislature unanimously passed a widely supported spending bill to provide the Arizona Department of Water Resources (ADWR) with dedicated funding to protect the state’s Colorado River supplies in court, if necessary. However this new partisan budget proposes to actually cut funding to ADWR. This contradictory, seemingly aimless approach to state budgeting cannot advance water security for all Arizonans. 

EDF in Arizona, on behalf of our combined 96,000 Arizona members across both EDF and our advocacy partner EDF Action, is asking lawmakers to vote no on this partisan budget and if necessary, Gov. Katie Hobbs to veto it. Instead, we offer lawmakers from both parties a roadmap below to reengage in good faith, bipartisan negotiations and craft a state budget that meets this moment, with Arizona in need of strategic investments in water security and resilience now more than ever. 

Maintain and strengthen state capacity to effectively manage our water supplies.

We recommend $25.8 million from the General Fund (for a total of $27.8 million across all funding sources) to ADWR to ensure they can effectively safeguard the state’s water supplies. This funding will support essential functions, including groundwater assessments, administration of active management areas and technical expertise related to water rights. Expanding ADWR’s capacity is vital to meeting increasing demand and work through intensifying water scarcity. 

We also recommend $18.3 million from the General Fund for the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) to ensure adequate staffing to carry out the agency’s duties related to air quality, water quality and other programs. Of this amount, $9.5 million would be allocated to the Water Quality Fee Fund to support surface water, groundwater and drinking water programs that protect water quality.

Support Colorado River efforts.

We recommend a minimum of $1 million from the General Fund for the Colorado River Litigation Fund, along with a $30 million one-time deposit into a newly established Colorado River Protection Fund. These investments will support conservation strategies such as crop shifting and other proven water-saving practices, while enabling Arizona to maintain a sustainable and growing economy in both rural and urban areas. 

Additionally, the Protection Fund should support the development of new recovery wells within initial active management areas to strengthen water banking, recharge and recovery systems as areas that are home to millions of people adapt to an imminent future of less Colorado River supplies. 

Modernize revenue and incentives around water sustainability.

We recommend both closing the sales tax loophole associated with the Data Center Tax Exemption and establishing a water-use assessment for data centers. It is unnecessary for the state to subsidize an industry that is clamoring to come to Arizona, with or without tax breaks, particularly one that is so taxing on our natural resources. 

If Arizona families can pay sales tax on their purchases, so can the world’s richest companies. Part of the revenue from these measures would generate a dedicated funding stream for a new Colorado River Protection Fund while encouraging responsible water use. Establishing this fund tied to part of these revenues will help ensure long-term investment in Arizona’s water future.

Support tribal water Infrastructure and uranium contamination monitoring.

We recommend $340,000 for the Ganado Irrigation Project on Navajo Nation and $1 million for statewide monitoring of uranium contamination, with a particular focus on protecting tribal communities affected by abandoned mines. Ensuring safe and reliable water infrastructure in these regions is essential.

Invest in rural economic development.

We recommend $250,000 from the General Fund to support the maintenance, planning, and preservation of the Arizona Trail. This 800-mile corridor supports recreation and tourism, and it is an important and sustainable economic driver for many rural communities across the state. 

Water security is foundational for creating opportunities for residents, whether that is housing, health and wellbeing, or good jobs and a strong economy. Sustainable water systems underpin vibrant economies, requiring care and investment. With so many headwinds threatening the state’s water supplies, now is the time for the state Legislature to invest more in water — not less.