Tapped

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.

Children in Arizona are often taught the 5 Cs that traditionally made up the state's economy: Cattle, Citrus, Climate, Copper and Cotton. As the state of our water supply changes, what's happening to those longtime industries? Tapped begins a mini-series looking to answer that question with an episode on agriculture, the economic sector that includes three of those five Cs. Is the industry that accounts 72% of the state's water consumption using its supply of water wisely?

Most of us get our water from a utility company, be it a large municipal one or a small private entity. This week, we look at the work that one small company does to keep the water flowing, and what happened when another utility had a big problem.

Dams are a key part of Arizona's water infrastructure, but experts say they are often ignored. So what happens when one breaks? To open our second season, we look at two examples that show opposite extremes of the results of a dam failure.

Tapped returns with all-new episodes on August 23, 2023. This season, we focus on how we get water from where it is to where we want it and the effects that has on our lives and the environment.

Arizona’s economy runs on growth–more people moving here, and more companies coming with them. But as the state is forced to make cuts in its water usage, it will have to reconsider what the housing developments built to accommodate that growth look like and even how many more people it can realistically handle.

Many communities along the U.S.-Mexico border share aquifers, and that works better for some states and cities than others. In this collaboration with the Texas Water Resources Institute, we compare how those relationships work in Texas and Arizona.

We're taking a short break this week, but come back on Monday, August 22 for stories about water on the border.

Tucson made big changes that had big impacts on its water consumption. What else could it do if it can pull off more shifts like this?

Poor water practices made the Santa Cruz River practically disappear, but new efforts have some water flowing again. And when there’s water in the desert, life follows quickly. Animals and plants that used to rely on the river are returning, sometimes with the help of scientists.