TUCSON, Ariz. (13 News) – Joining Makayla Goos on the Tucson Now desk, Dr. Neha Gupta, a researcher on a recently released, groundbreaking project to solve Arizona’s impending water crisis.
A team of researches, students, and faculty from three public Arizona universities is offering new tools and strategies aimed at easing Arizona’s growing water concerns, as Colorado River supplies become less reliable and the state faces hotter, drier conditions.
The Arizona Tri-University Recharge and Water Reliability Project—bringing together the University of Arizona, Arizona State University and Northern Arizona University—modeled the water budget for all 51 of Arizona’s groundwater basins and mapped out ways communities could capture more water and recharge aquifers. Among the report’s key findings: statewide water storage is declining, and more than 95% of Arizona’s precipitation is lost to evaporation, meaning even small reductions in those losses could add meaningful supply…