Grant Heminger is a Research and Policy Analyst at the Kyl Center for Water Policy, specializing in water affordability and demand projection with a focus on tribal water systems. He graduated summa cum laude from Arizona State University's Barrett, The Honors College, where he studied under esteemed professors of practice with decades of experience in water resource management.

Kathleen Ferris has been involved in Arizona water issues for nearly 40 years. In 1977, she was appointed executive director of the Arizona Groundwater Management Study Commission, leading to the passage of the 1980 Arizona Groundwater Management Act, one of the nation’s most visionary groundwater laws.

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As used in this series, water augmentation refers to the effort to secure additional water supplies for current or future users. Development of water supplies has been a human undertaking since time immemorial, and it will likely continue in Arizona to ensure water for future demand. Here are some examples of different types of augmentation projects that have happened in Arizona in the past:

When it comes to conceptualizing new water supplies for Arizona, there’s no lack of imagination -- and seemingly no lack of ingenuity: Engineers and futurists have proffered everything from ocean desalination to hauling icebergs to 

A project to move water, change its use, alter its quality or store it is likely to be expensive.

augment (verb): to make greater, more numerous, larger or more intense
augmentation (noun): the act or process of augmenting something

Merriam-Webster.com. Merriam-Webster, 2022.

Since the 1980s, Arizona Tribes have leased water for off-reservation use by cities and industries. A Tribal water lease is an agreement through which a Tribe allows an entity to temporarily use part of the Tribe’s water allocation in exchange for payment.

People won’t move to a place if there’s not enough water for their needs. In a place like Arizona, where surface water supplies are relatively scarce, sustainable management of water is a prerequisite to developing a population and an economy. Generally, this entails developing infrastructure projects for purposes such as water storage, treatment, delivery and even importation from distant places.