Sharon B Megdal

Sharon B. Megdal is a Professor and Specialist in the Department of Environmental Science at the University of Arizona, serving as Director of the Water Resources Research Center (WRRC), a Cooperative Extension center within the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. She holds the C.W. & Modene Neely Endowed Professorship and is a Distinguished Outreach Professor. Her work focuses on water policy and management, with a geographic scope spanning local to international levels. Key roles include Board President of the International Arid Lands Consortium, Board Member of the American Water Resources Association, and former Board Secretary of the Central Arizona Water Conservation District (2016–2020).

Education: PhD in Economics from Princeton University (1981), MA in Economics from Princeton (1979), and BA in Economics from Rutgers University (Douglass College). Her research interests include comparative evaluation of water governance in water-scarce regions, groundwater recharge, transboundary aquifer assessment, and Middle East and U.S.-Mexico water issues. She teaches graduate courses on water policy in Arizona and semi-arid regions.

Research Interests: Megdal’s work emphasizes water policy innovations, groundwater sustainability, and transboundary collaboration. She has authored/co-authored books like Shared Borders, Shared Waters: Israeli-Palestinian and Colorado River Basin Water Challenges and edited special journal issues on managed aquifer recharge and OECD water governance principles. Her Reflections series on water policy is accessible via the WRRC director’s page.

Awards and Recognition: Recipient of the Warren A. Hall Medal (2020), Fellow of the American Water Resources Association (2024), and multiple environmental and leadership awards recognizing her contributions to water policy and education.

Advocacy and Grants: Megdal has advised numerous Arizona boards, including the Arizona Corporation Commission and Transportation Board. She leads initiatives like Conserve2Enhance, linking water conservation to environmental enhancement. Her work often integrates scenario planning and stakeholder engagement to address complex water challenges.

Labs/Teams: Central to her role at WRRC is fostering interdisciplinary collaboration through programs like the Transboundary Aquifer Assessment Program (TAAP), which models binational groundwater governance. She also collaborates with international partners on Middle East water challenges and U.S.-Mexico transboundary aquifers.