SECURING OUR WATER

Greg HAS delivered tangible results to protect ARIZONA’S WATER SECURITY.

Arizona’s water future needs leaders who understand what is at stake and who have the backbone to fight for a fair deal. Greg Stanton believes Arizona can keep growing, competing, and leading, but only if leaders are honest about the limits of the Colorado River and disciplined enough to act before the next crisis hits. Water security is not just about supply. It is about whether the next generation inherits a state that can sustain the life, opportunity, and economic strength Arizona has worked so hard to build.

Greg fights for water because he knows the burden cannot fall hardest on the people and communities who have already done the most to conserve. Arizona has stepped up again and again to protect the Colorado River system, and Greg will not accept an agreement that lets other Basin states avoid their fair share while Arizona families, tribes, farmers, cities, and employers are asked to absorb the consequences. Arizona must not be left with a deal that leaves us paying for everyone else’s delay.

Drought, extreme heat, and long-term overallocation have put Lake Mead and Lake Powell under serious strain, while groundwater supplies face growing pressure from population growth and economic demand. The growing danger is not only that Arizona could have less water, but bad rules, weak negotiations, or federal delays could lock Arizona into an unfair future.

That is why Greg has become one of Arizona’s leading voices in Congress on Colorado River negotiations. He is pressing federal agencies and Basin states to recognize the reality of a shrinking river, require equitable conservation from every state, and protect Arizona’s seat at the table as the post-2026 rules are written. He is not approaching these negotiations as an observer. He is fighting to make sure Arizona’s communities, tribal rights, agriculture, cities, and industries are not treated as bargaining chips in someone else’s deal.

Greg is also delivering the resources Arizona needs to become more resilient, not just more worried. He helped secure historic federal funding for drought relief and long-term conservation, with investments now supporting Lake Mead, Lake Powell, Arizona communities, tribes, and farmers. He has pushed funding into water recycling, groundwater recharge, smart meters, reclamation facilities, drought planning, and local infrastructure so communities can stretch every acre-foot further and build systems strong enough for the climate Arizona already lives in.

Greg’s work also reflects a basic principle of justice. Small, rural, and tribal communities should not be left behind because they lack the tax base or political muscle to compete for water infrastructure on their own. In Congress, Greg wrote the law and secured the funding for the Arizona Environmental Infrastructure Authority to ensure these communities can build and upgrade water and wastewater systems that protect public health, support growth, and prepare for a drier future.

Greg will continue leading the fight in Congress to protect the state’s water future, demanding fairness in the negotiations that will shape the Colorado River for decades, and bringing home the federal investments Arizona needs to conserve, recycle, recharge, and build resilience. He knows Arizona cannot afford denial, delay, or a weak deal. His mission is to make sure Arizona is prepared, protected, and never left carrying more than its share.

Greg’s Record:

• Created and expanded the Arizona Environmental Infrastructure Authority, unlocking over $200 million in federal funding for local and tribal water projects. 

• Delivered more than $36 million directly to Arizona communities—with another $6 million on the way—to modernize local systems, install smart meters, and strengthen drought resilience.

• Secured $37.5 million to reopen Tempe’s Kyrene Water Reclamation Facility, allowing the city to recycle millions of gallons of water each day and recharge groundwater for future use.

• Invested $18.75 million to modernize Chandler’s Ocotillo Water Reclamation Facility, plus $3 million for new aquifer-storage wells and $990,000 for smart-meter upgrades supporting Intel’s expansion and East Valley jobs.

• Brought $1.75 million to Mesa to install 12,000 smart meters and repair city water mains—helping residents save water and money.

• Led the bipartisan Colorado River Drought Contingency Plan, securing $190 million to help the federal government meet its conservation obligations and safeguard water for 40 million people across the Southwest.

• Authored the Drought Resilient Infrastructure Act, now partly enacted through the 2024 WRDA bill, directing the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to help Arizona communities build drought-ready water systems.

• Protected Arizona’s clean water by opposing rollbacks of the Biden Administration’s Waters of the United States rule, preserving safeguards for streams that supply drinking water to 3.2 million Arizonans.