Unsafe Yield

Nobody who knows Peggy Judd, one of three supervisors in Arizona’s Cochise County, would mistake her for a political progressive.

Yet when it comes to water in a county where groundwater is the sole source for irrigation and drinking, and where demand is racing ahead of supply, the boundaries of politics and ideology can change. Judd finds herself surveying the region’s rugged political terrain of private interest, anti-government, free market zeal. Confrontations over water don’t always fit neatly into these spaces. Her assessment, swayed by conversations with constituents, is a more nuanced view of science, the public interest, and government’s role in brokering solutions. 

Residents across the state are reckoning with their dwindling water supplies, an acute public interest challenge that has historically been answered by federal, state, and local leadership sufficiently skilled in sorting out the details, negotiating differences, and reaching consensus on responses. 

Arizona’s impressive water infrastructure, most importantly, is the result of the disputes resolved and the consensus built on public policy, public investment, and oversight that unfolded in three overlapping policy-making eras in the 20th century. 

A fourth era dominated by extreme heat and drought is underway to save what’s been built. And as fixes become more complex, so is the capacity of elected officials to work together. 

Perspective | IPCC Paints a Bleak Picture for Water – But There is a Way Forward

The latest report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change is bleak – but the private sector could be a beacon of hope. 

That’s according to Kirsten James, the water program director at Ceres, a sustainability nonprofit organization working with the most influential investors and companies to build leadership and drive solutions throughout the economy.

Despite their dark assessment, the IPCC scientists give us hope, she writes, by saying “there is still time to act.” But how? Industry – from food production to mining, apparel manufacturing to high-tech – is collectively the largest user and influencer of freshwater resources globally. Along with governments, the private sector is an integral component of the water cycle and has much to lose as critical climate and water risks grow. 

This presents an opportunity for collective action.

HotSpots H2O: In Besieged Ukraine, Water Again a Locus of Conflict

Russian acts of war are causing collateral damage to water systems and threatening lives in Ukraine. 

Heavy aerial bombardment has cut off water, power supplies, and emergency services in Mariupol, the strategic port city and industrial center. Local news outlets report that citizens are melting snow for drinking water. Ukrainian authorities said last week that a six-year-old girl in the city, identified only as Tanya, died of dehydration.

Moscow’s brutal siege tactics — including targeting residential buildings and using cluster munitions, an internationally banned weapon which release hundreds of smaller bombs in mid-air — have debilitated essential services in the country. In a matter of weeks, the attacks left over 900 communities without power and water. 

Experts fear the destruction could have ripple effects on public health, exacerbating the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic and creating outbreaks of diseases like cholera, which is caused by poor sanitation and inadequate water treatment.

Russia and Ukraine are engaged in peace talks to end the war, though thus far they have failed.