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From left: Ted Geisler, President of Arizona Public Service, moderator Kristen Stephenson, ADWR Director Tom Buschatzke, Sarah Porter, Director of the Kyl Center for Water Policy, and Jim Pratt, General Manager and CEO of Salt River Project.

ADWR Director joins high-powered panel to discuss water and power challenges facing Arizona in coming years

Published
November 25, 2025
ADWR Director Tom Buschatzke speaking during the four-person panel

Two of the biggest challenges facing Arizona’s economy in coming years – meeting the demand of an economically dynamic region for water and power – were the topics of discussion at the Greater Phoenix Economic Council’s most recent installment of GPEC’s State of the Region series of talks.

On the four-person panel was ADWR Director Tom Buschatzke, introduced by panel moderator Kristen Stephenson as one of the region’s most influential voices on water security.

Also on the panel and speaking to water-security issues was Sarah Porter, Director of the Kyl Center for Water Policy. Addressing issues related to urban Arizona’s growing need for power generation was Ted Geisler, President of Arizona Public Service and Jim Pratt, General Manager and CEO of Salt River Project.

Together, the panelists spoke to the important water and power supply priorities necessary to ensure that Arizona remain both competitive and environmentally sustainable.

We’ve got to ‘up’ our water-management game, Director Buschatzke told the audience of about 100 Phoenix-area business people. By way of example, the Director noted that the state is beginning to consider options for moving water from sources other than the Colorado River through the Central Arizona Project canal system. 

Buschatzke also emphasized the need for more water conservation, considering that we’re pretty sure we are going to lose 20-27 percent of our Colorado River supply as a result of dwindling supplies available from the river system.

From left: ADWR Director Tom Buschatzke, Sarah Porter, Director of the Kyl Center for Water Policy, Ted Geisler, President of Arizona Public Service and Jim Pratt, General Manager and CEO of Salt River Project.

Both the power-provider leaders on the panel identified the need for billions of dollars in infrastructure in coming years to handle soaring demand for electric-power capacity. Pratt of SRP noted, for example, that his company needs to add about $13 billion worth of new transmission capacity in coming years.

Similarly, Geisler of APS told the audience that his company anticipates spending well in excess of $10 billion on new infrastructure in just the next few years.

For more than 30 years, GPEC has been a regional leader in economic development, working to attract and grow quality businesses and advocate for Greater Phoenix’s competitiveness. The business advocacy organization has helped more than 1,075 companies establish or expand their presence in Greater Phoenix, helping create nearly 195,000 new jobs and generating over $76.5 billion in capital investment for the region.