No time to read the news articles? We’ve bundled the last week’s worth of them into our Western-Water Weekly video series. The latest video is now available and embedded below:
This week’s Western Water Weekly video dives into wildfire smoke that could shorten lives, the leadership gap at the Bureau of Reclamation at a critical time, Utah’s new water-sharing deal, California’s golden mussel invasion, and Antioch’s milestone desalination plant.
In our “Blast from the Basin,” we revisit a bizarre 1916 Arizona story of a baby found floating in an irrigation ditch — a mystery that captured headlines nationwide.
And new questions are rising about data centers in the Colorado River Basin. Do they use too much water? The truth is nuanced: a single large data center can consume hundreds to a few thousand acre-feet of water each year. While that’s significant locally, agriculture remains the overwhelming water user. Still, Basin states are moving toward reclaimed water, tighter efficiency rules, and energy tariffs to keep AI growth from straining supplies. A new Arizona poll shows clear public sentiment: when water is scarce, people want drinking water and farms prioritized over industries like data centers and chip factories.
