ASU experts weigh in on Phoenix-Tucson water-sharing agreement

A recent Wall Street Journal article based on the Phoenix-Tucson water-sharing agreement highlights the growing trend among drought-ridden regions, especially in the desert Southwest, of sharing valuable natural resources such as water.

The agreement will allow "Phoenix, which gets more water than it can store from the Colorado River, ...to send some of its surplus to Tucson, which needs it to lower pumping costs. In return, Tucson will give up part of its share of Colorado River water to Phoenix when needed."

"This is ushering in an era of cooperation where, typically in the past, each player has watched out and protected its own rights," Dave White, co-director of the Decision Center for a Desert City at Arizona State University, said in the article.

As Colorado River levels continue to fall due to uncertain climate conditions – ASU senior sustainability scientist David Sampson predicted "its flow could eventually fall to as little as 40 percent of its long-term average" – regional water agencies are finding innovative solutions to long-term challenges.