Owners of water rights to Cibola Valley Irrigation and Drainage District (CVIDD) in southwestern Arizona seek approval to sell or lease about 24,000 acre-feet of federal contract Colorado River water to out-of-state buyers. This proposed transaction represents a challenge to the state of Arizona and its efforts to control interstate water transfers. The Arizona Department of Water Resources (ADWR) thus far has blocked any proposed interstate sales or leases.

The little southwestern willow flycatcher is an emerging player in the ongoing effort to protect Arizona riparian areas. Recently listed by U.S. Fish and Wildlife as an endangered species, the flycatcher is considered an indicator species for southwestern riparian habitat conditions.

Researchers and water quality regulators are paying increased attention to cryptosporidium, a potentially deadly parasite commonly occurring in untreated surface water. Cryptosporidium, nicknamed "crypto," recently attracted attention in Arizona when the parasite was found in Phoenix's and Mesa's treated drinking water supplies.

The City of Tucson has narrowed its options for using its Central Arizona Project water allocation to four: direct treatment and delivery through the existing treatment plant after replacing deteriorating mains; augmenting treatment with a filtration stage to remove salts; blending CAP water with equal amounts of groundwater; and recharging CAP water using spreading basins, streambeds, and/or injection wells.

Who killed the CAP Compact? Like in the parlor game, suspects are many but clues are scarce. Was it Nevada Governor Bob Miller with a phone call to the White House? Was it tribal attorneys pressing water rights claims on Interior Secretary Babbitt? Could California's Congressional delegation, the traditional villain in Arizona water politics, have been involved? Or did Arizona bollix the deal itself by not providing tribes access to excess CAP water or the right to pursue out-of-state leasing, as hinted by Secretary Babbitt?

A U.S. conservation organization that works with communities to resolve natural resource issues is involved in a community-based project in Mexico to improve conditions along the Santa Cruz River.

The University of Arizona is the lead institution in a new $16 million, multi-university center that will develop ways to efficiently manage water resources in semi-arid regions. Professor Soroosh Sorooshian of UA Hydrology and Water Resources will direct the new National Science Foundation (NSF) Science and Technology Center (STC). Researchers and students from several colleges at UA will be involved, as well as other universities, government agencies and private institutions.

With advantages seemingly outweighing disadvantages, constructed wetlands often are viewed as a win-win situation, promising much and delivering much, from environmental benefits to an inexpensive and effective way to treat wastewater.

Officials ponder the implications of the Arizona Supreme Court's recent ruling that Indians' rights to groundwater trump the state-granted rights of cities, mines and others. Most agree that the Indian water rights cause will undoubtedly be well served, but some speculate that the decision also will provide a strategy to expand enforcement of the Endangered Species Act.

Dropping groundwater levels are a major concern in Arizona, with laws and policies adopted to control the decline in various areas of the state. Yet where irrigation occurs, and groundwater pumping has either been reduced or stopped, rising groundwater levels can be a problem, in both agricultural and urban areas. Laden with salts and other chemicals, rising groundwater can threaten the productivity of the land and cause other problems as well.