The state is creating an ‘active management area’ in the western part of the state, where agribusinesses including a Saudi alfalfa exporter have practically free rein over water supplies.
Arizona Governor Katie Hobbes announced the formation of an active management area in the western part of the state, prompting stricter monitoring and water conservation standards in an area popular for agriculture.
As Sejal Govindarao explains in The Independent, the governor’s announcement “followed a determination by the Arizona Department of Water Resources that plummeting water levels are causing land within the Ranegras Plain Groundwater Basin to sink, which impacts the amount of water that can be held underground.”
Water users in the Ranegras Plain Groundwater Basin will have to track and report their water usage. “The new rules allow for a management plan formed by the Arizona Department of Water Resources and locals, as well as requirements for conserving water.”
According to Govindarao, “The new set of regulations are subject to being challenged administratively or through the courts” by industry groups who say the rules are too stringent and amount to a threat to the local economy.
FULL STORY: Drought-stricken Arizona moves to curb groundwater use in more rural areas
Deadline Nears for Colorado River Water Sharing Agreement
Water officials from the seven Colorado River Basin states are still at odds over how to manage dwindling water resources as current regulations are set to expire in February.
Arizona Governor Takes Steps to Modernize Water Policy
A newly released report warns of rapidly dwindling groundwater resources as developers plan to build hundreds of thousands of new homes.
Utah Debates Solutions to Water Shortage
With a rapidly growing population and strained water supplies, Utah lawmakers and conservation groups debate how to best replenish the state's water sources.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
The state-sanctioned urbicide of Austin
People don’t kill cities. Freeways do.
US to reduce Colorado River water deliveries to Mexico
A new Colorado Treaty amendment reduces Mexico’s Colorado River water allocation by 250,000 acre feet.
Baltimore to break ground on $50 million Transit Priority Project
The project will bring faster bus trips, safer streets and better bike connections to Baltimore.
Airbnb launches $250 million 'last-dollar financing' housing accelerator, makes first investment in Austin
The company will put $6.4 million towards affordable housing development in Texas’ capital.
Guerilla urbanists are building DIY bus stop benches in Chicago
A before-and-after of one of the bus stops with a new bench. The new benches are not officially sanctioned or permitted, but the residents who placed them hope they will be the start of a network of DIY benches across the city.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
Eagle County Government
Harvard University Graduate School of Design
Nashville Planning Department
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello
Journal of the American Planning Association