WATERSHED ARIZONA

About Watershed Arizona

Throughout what is now known as Arizona, ancient civilizations constructed epic cities, harnessed the powerful and unpredictable rivers to water crops and sustain their communities, and thrived for thousands of years. Eventually, the unpredictability of the seasons, the power of the floods, and the fragility of infrastructure contributed to the abandonment of cities--leaving only ruins to mark these impressive achievements.

Today, modern technology and sheer hubris have resulted in a new set of settlements that again attempt to thrive in one of the world’s harshest and driest climates. With the help of modern engineering marvels like the Hoover Dam and the Central Arizona Project canal, more than 7 million people call Arizona home and over 100,000 more residents move there each year.

Phoenix, it’s the largest city, has been among the nation’s fastest-growing for about three decades, in spite of its harsh summer climate and low annual rainfall. Other cities in the state have seen rapid growth of their own. How long can this continue before, like other civilizations of old, nature asserts its dominance and returns the cities to dust?

All images are conceptual and subject to change.

Growth and Stewardship—a Delicate Balance

Human habitation of Arizona, in one of the world’s harshest climates, rests on a fragile, yet brilliant foundation of water storage and delivery projects, environmental protections, and urban growth management. Much of this infrastructure is invisible to the general public as it was put in place years ago before most of the current residents arrived. 
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Watershed: Arizona will allow players to confront the same realities that prompted these innovations. Some examples include massive floods that destroyed cities without warning requiring dams and reservoirs to reduce future risk, human impacts to watersheds that resulted in lower water yields and reduced human enjoyment requiring environmental laws and conservation strategies, and unconstrained urban growth resulting in planning and zoning tools that guide growth toward more livable and attractive cities. 
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Throughout the game, players will be required to balance the water supplies of their watersheds with the demands of their cities. Early on, as in historical Arizona, water supply will seem plentiful and simple projects will address each community’s needs. After a few decades however, more complex strategies will be needed that can only be unlocked with investments in smart policies and collaborative regional solutions. Water demand will be low at first, resulting in high water use, significant expansion of agriculture, and sprawling urban development. In time, as resources get scarce, players will invest in smart growth tools and policies at the local and state level to reduce their water use. Only by balancing supply and demand can the cities survive, and only by stewarding the most precious resource--the watershed, can human habitation continue.