WATER

Lawmakers, municipalities, developers, looking at 100-year water supply rules

Challenges still loom in housing, increasing population

Gov. Stephen Roe Lewis pauses along the Gila River where the water diverts into a canal in the Gila River Indian Community on May 2 in Sacaton. Lewis has leveraged the Gila River tribe’s water abundance to help Arizona and others at a critical time, though there could be many more changes in Arizona laws and rules around water and new development.

Ross D. Franklin/The Associated Press

Jamaine Berry’s campaign fliers for his successful Buckeye City Council run often incorporated a checked-box graphic with “water” at the top.

Water and water rights were a major part of the election conversation this year, though the topics were more prominent in some fast-growth parts of Arizona.

It’s no surprise Buckeye officials would still be talking about water rights, even after the city spent $80 million in early 2023 to buy rights from three landowners.

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