Tapped

The history of Arizona's relationship with Saudi Arabia and the Arabian peninsula starts with a pre-Civil-War military program involving camels run by Jefferson Davis. It went on to involve the state's first college professor, an attempt to launch a new cash crop that became a common tree in the state, and much more. All of that lead to the most recent chapter, when monarchs began seeing Arizona as a place to grow thirsty crops like alfalfa as they exploited weak water laws in the state's rural places.

US-Mexico collaboration has improved the once polluted and depleted Santa Cruz River. Challenges like flooding and wastewater management persist, requiring new infrastructure and funding. Despite progress, managing water across borders remains ongoing.

In the 1960s, Arizona was facing a crisis. Its aquifers were depleting and its ground was sinking. That issue prompted a major infrastructure project that would forever change what was possible in the state, a 336 mile system of canals that take a big part of the state's Colorado River water allocation and diverts it to Phoenix and Tucson, as well as farmland in Central Arizona. This week, we look at how the Central Arizona Project came to be, and what it means to the state.

An Arizona mother's loss turned into a national movement to make drinking water safe. Forever chemicals, including PFAS, are tied to cancer and other health problems. Now the race is on to clean up Tucson's water and protect public health.

Arizona has long been a hotspot for golfers looking to keep up their game as weather elsewhere turns cold. But, for just as long, the state has been working to limit water use by golf courses. How much of a part does golf play in Arizona's water issues?

The Colorado River is the most dammed waterway in the US, but what was it like before? We go back to the battle over Parker Canyon Dam and how it changed Arizona's rights to the river's water forever.

Why do so many Saudi Arabian-owned farms grow alfalfa in Arizona? How bad is our current water crisis compared with historical droughts? The new season of AZPM's hit water podcast answers these questions and more. Join us on July 17 for all new episodes.

In this Tapped episode, Katya Mendoza and Paola Rodriguez explore the history of the Havasupai people's fight to stop uranium mining near the Grand Canyon and why they worry about water contamination.

For people who visit or call Grand Canyon National Park home, the water issues mainly come around moving water up to the rim where the homes, hotels, and other businesses sit. But, head downstream to one of the most remote tribal nations in America, and the water issues are very different. The Havasupai people's land sits in the canyon, surrounded on all sides by the park. They're not worried about pumping the water up. Their worries are about what trickles down. Upstream from them sits an area where uranium mining was once plentiful. And that atomic-age history is causing concerns about water quality.

In this Tapped episode, Danyelle Khmara delves into the Grand Canyon's water infrastructure challenges and the extraordinary Transcanyon Waterline upgrade, highlighting the complexities of delivering clean water in this iconic natural wonder.

Lake Powell is the reason Page, Arizona exists. The city of 7,500 started as a work camp for those building Glen Canyon Dam. Today, the lake and dam provide the it with water and electricity, and lake-related business accounts for about three-quarters of its taxbase. So how does the ebb and flow of the lake's main source of water, the Colorado River, affect life in Page?

The story of a home development in Cochise County has taken a second big turn since we published Episode 4 of this series, so Summer Hom is back with the latest on this ongoing saga.

We wrap up our look at the 5 Cs of Arizona's economy with an examination of copper. The state is dotted with towns that at some point relied on mineral extraction for jobs. And that industry's historical practices around water use have reflected the state's feelings about both natural resources, whether it's dropping slag into rivers in the early-to-mid 1900s or efforts to squeeze and treat every drop of water out of today's tailings. How does this stalwart of Arizona's economy compare to others when it comes to water use?

Hi, Tapped listeners. Our last episode mentioned issues around the adjudication of just how much water should be guaranteed to run through the San Pedro River. At the time we were reporting, that amount had not been quantified. But it now has. While we haven't combed through the details yet, you can get updates as we follow this story at news.azpm.org

Climate has always been the most nebulous of Arizona's 5 Cs. The most common thought of what it refers to is the mild winters and low humidity that, unless you're in the mountains, dominate the state. Winter weather that often requires little more than a sweater often entices northerners when Jack Frost is doing a little more than nipping at their noses. As people relocate to Arizona, it brings a need for increased housing and thus a need for more residential water consumption. As the state deals with concerns about water and homebuilding, we head to a part of the state that has been battling such concerns for nearly two decades to learn about two long, protracted battles over building houses while trying to keep a river alive.