Arizona's Water Infrastructure Finance Authority (WIFA) has six proposals it could fund for projects that could eventually import billions of gallons of water into the drought-stricken state.

Why it matters: The Colorado River basin, which includes Arizona, has been in a historic "megadrought" for more than two decades, while demand for water is steadily increasing.

Catch up quick: WIFA last year began the process of soliciting proposals for long-term water augmentation projects that could bring up to 100 billion gallons of water into Arizona.

Driving the news: WIFA staff received six proposals in four categories: ocean water desalination, surface water sources, reclaimed water and other sources.

• Four of the six proposals came from water and utility services provider EPCOR.
• Two others came from Acciona-Fengate Water Augmentation Alliance and ZARETAW, LLC, which each submitted a desalination proposal.

What's next: Staff will evaluate the proposals and suggest between zero to six for the WIFA board to put under contract for feasibility studies.

• That decision is expected by Dec. 1, WIFA spokesperson Ben Alteneder told Axios.
• From there, he said, it'll likely be one to two years before the board makes a final decision on which proposals to fund.
• Details about the six proposals won't become publicly available until the board decides which ones will move forward.

Yes, but: Whichever projects receive WIFA money will most likely need outside funding sources as well, Alteneder told Axios.

The big picture: It'll be years before Arizona sees water from any of the projects, Ted Cooke, who leads WIFA's Long-Term Water Augmentation Fund Committee, said Wednesday at a board meeting.

• "We still have a lot to do. I don't want to get ahead of ourselves," Cooke said.

What they're saying: "If some of these projects are successful ... it will make Arizona more water resilient," Sarah Porter, director of the Kyl Center for Water Policy at Arizona State University's Morrison Institute for Public Policy, told Axios.

• The process of developing water augmentation concepts and determining which ones are doable will hopefully open the door for additional funding, she said.

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Workers inside the agency that oversees Social Security warn that they're buckling under the strain of understaffing — accelerated by recent Trump administration initiatives.

Why it matters: Americans applying for benefits or needing help at their local Social Security field offices are facing delays, workers say.

By the numbers: An analysis of union workforce data shared exclusively with Axios from the Strategic Organizing Center, a coalition of labor groups, finds that field offices were down 1,034 union employees — nearly 5% of staff — across the country as of March 2025, compared with the prior year.

• Arizona lost 5% its field office workers, per the center's report.
• All told, there could be a nearly 20% reduction in field office staff from March 2024, according to Axios' estimate.
• Staffing overall at the agency is at 53,000, a spokesperson tells Axios. That's down from 57,000 last year.

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🔥 Grand Canyon officials ignored risky conditions and critical warnings before the Dragon Bravo Fire began burning out of control, according to an analysis by the Arizona Republic. (AZcentral)

💻 Alpha School, a new K-8 private school in Scottsdale, provides AI instruction to students for two hours each day and has no teachers. (Arizona's Family)

🗳️ A citizen referendum campaign has collected enough signatures to place a repeal measure on the ballot next year for a Tempe ordinance used to crack down on groups that distribute food and clothing to unhoused people. (Phoenix New Times)

💰 TSMC reported making its first profits in Arizona, bringing in $150 million in earnings in the first half of 2025. (AZcentral)

🧱 The Trump administration plans to paint the entire wall along the U.S.-Mexico border black in order to make it hotter and harder to climb, U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced Tuesday. (Axios)

Court documents state that a stolen firearm was the motive behind a stabbing attack this week at Maryvale High School that killed a student. The 16-year-old classmate accused of the attack has been charged with second-degree murder. (12 News)

Welcome to another edition of "Where in the Valley?"

How it works: We show you something cool. You tell us where it is.

• The first reader who names the spot gets a shoutout in the newsletter.

You tell us: Where in the Valley can you find this sculpture of three women standing with their backs to each other?

Catch up quick: Congratulations to Chris Moriarty, the first reader to give us the location of last week's "Where in the Valley?" photo.

• The copper dome-themed awning is at the one and only Cerreta Candy Company in downtown Glendale.