New Article Examines AZ Groundwater Management
An article by Simone Williams, a WRRC alumna who completed her PhD in 2024, appears as a Feature Paper in the April 2025 issue of the journal Water. The article, titled “Assessing the Relationship Between Groundwater Availability, Access, and Contamination Risk in Arizona's Drinking Water Sources,” was co-authored by WRRC Director Sharon B. Megdal and collaborators Adriana A. Zuniga-Teran, David M. Quanrud, and Gary Christopherson. Based on a case study encompassing 1,881 groundwater-dependent drinking water service areas in Arizona, the Williams et al. paper documents the study’s comprehensive analysis of factors affecting access to safe water, including groundwater level changes, regulation, socioeconomics, and contamination by nitrate and arsenic. Policy recommendations drawn from the study emphasize the need for expanded aquifer recharge, specialized regulatory interventions, and strengthened Tribal water governance to reduce inequities in availability, access, and contamination risk and to support equitable and sustainable groundwater management.