Arizona water blueprint aids informed water planning

Water is Arizona’s most precious natural resource. Yet, despite its importance, few Arizonans actually understand where their water is sourced.

If someone asked you to identify Arizona’s three major water sources, could you name them? Could you explain why tens of thousands of Arizonans don’t have certainty about their long-term water supplies?

If you can’t answer these questions, don’t feel bad. Most people can’t.

But most people do want to know more about water management in Arizona. A 2019 ASU Morrison Institute for Public Policy poll found that 64% of Arizonans are interested in learning more about water management in the state. And not only laypersons, we hear often from elected officials and other policymakers around the state that accessing information about water resources is not easy.

This is exactly why the ASU Kyl Center for Water Policy created the just-launched Arizona Water Blueprint: To fill the gap between what people know about water in Arizona and what they want to know. Using the Arizona Water Blueprint website, the average Arizonan – not just people who already have an understanding of Arizona’s water issues – would be able to answer the water questions we just posed, and many more, with just a few clicks.

The Arizona Water Blueprint site has two main components.