Guest Editorial: Preparing for what we can’t predict

By Thyra Ryden-Diaz, PE, MPA
Interim Senior Director – Scottsdale Water

Interim Senior Director of Water Resources

Good water management is not about predicting the future. It is about preparing for it.

The future of water in the Southwest will be influenced by many factors. Some are within our control. Others are not.

Scottsdale cannot determine how much snow falls in the Rocky Mountains. We cannot control temperatures across the Southwest. We cannot predict every decision that will be made about the Colorado River in the years ahead.

What we can control is how we prepare.

And preparation is not something Scottsdale has recently begun. It is something we have been actively pursuing for years.

Recognizing that future water supplies may look different than they do today, Scottsdale has taken a portfolio approach to water reliability. We are diversifying supplies, expanding local water resource opportunities, strengthening our ability to recover and store groundwater, investing in conservation and efficiency technologies, and improving the infrastructure that allows water to move where it is needed most.

That work takes many forms. It includes acquiring additional groundwater rights to strengthen long-term supply reliability, expanding well and aquifer storage and recovery infrastructure to increase drought resilience, and deploying technologies that help customers identify leaks and use water more efficiently.

These investments are designed to create flexibility. No single project or strategy will determine Scottsdale’s water future. Resilience comes from having multiple tools available, multiple sources of supply, and multiple pathways for adapting to changing conditions.

That is the essence of preparation: building options before you need them.

Some of these investments are highly visible. Others occur behind the scenes and may never attract public attention. Yet all serve the same purpose: reducing risk, increasing reliability, and ensuring Scottsdale remains well-positioned to navigate an uncertain future.

These efforts are guided by Scottsdale’s five-spoke approach to reducing reliance on the Colorado River. Together, these strategies create multiple pathways to strengthen water reliability while reducing exposure to any single source of supply. In future editorials, I will explore each of these spokes in greater detail and highlight the investments and initiatives underway within each area.

The Valley we know today was not built on certainty. It was built on preparation. Previous generations invested in reservoirs, canals, groundwater storage, conservation programs, and water infrastructure long before they were urgently needed. Those investments created options. Today’s responsibility is to do the same.

The future of the Colorado River remains uncertain. Important decisions about water management are still being made, and conditions will continue to evolve. But uncertainty is not a reason to stand still.

Communities that succeed in the decades ahead will not be those that ignore challenges or become consumed by them. They will be the communities that focus on what they can control, invest wisely, adapt when necessary, and remain committed to practical solutions.

That is the path Scottsdale has chosen.

The challenges ahead are real. So is our capacity to meet them.

Preparing is how Scottsdale will continue to secure a reliable water future.

Thyra Ryden-Diaz is Scottsdale’s interim senior director of Water Resources and has spent more than two decades helping deliver critical water infrastructure projects for the Scottsdale community.