PRESS STATEMENT

Statement from Director Tom Buschatzke on the Passing of Arizona Senator Jon Kyl

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: September 17, 2026                                             

It is impossible to overstate the impact that Jon Kyl has had on water law and policy in Arizona and, indeed, throughout the Southwest. Among his many accomplishments, his determination to see complex Tribal water rights claims through to completion stands out. One of the most technically and politically challenging of all Tribal water settlements, the Arizona Water Settlement Act of 2004, would not have been possible without Senator Kyl’s skillful leadership. The AWSA, which the senator first introduced in 2000, was eventually signed into law in December 2004, codifying the largest water settlement agreement in Arizona’s history. His less known accomplishments, however, have proved just as impactful.

As a water attorney for Salt River Project, he was heavily involved in the negotiations that ultimately would lead to the enactment of the landmark 1980 Arizona Groundwater Management Act, as well as the creation of the agency I am proud to lead, the Arizona Department of Water Resources. 

In 1983, Kyl successfully represented the State of Arizona before the U.S. Supreme Court in a case that confirmed the jurisdiction of the state courts for comprehensive water rights adjudications that include tribal and non-tribal water rights. Always willing to sacrifice the spotlight in favor of the difficult work of creating sound water policy behind the scenes, Senator Kyl was justifiably deemed one of the world’s most influential people by Time Magazine in 2010. His influence in the development of water policy in the Southwest will be felt for generations to come.

– Tom Buschatzke, Director of the Arizona Department of Water Resources

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