ABSTRACT

Arizona is a relative latecomer to conjunctive management. Unlike California localities, which began experimenting with conjunctive management in the 1920s, and Colorado farmers, who began engaging in conjunctive management in the 1970s, Arizonans did not actively use conjunctive management until the 1990s. During the two prior decades, Arizona water users were embroiled in numerous conflicts that produced substantial changes in water laws and regulations, setting the stage for conjunctive management.