Water Management Certificate Program

The Water Management Certificate Program is a unique collaboration between the Agribusiness & Water Council of Arizona, Inc. (the Arizona State Affiliate to the National Water Resources Association), the Morrison School of Agribusiness and the Ira A. Fulton School of Engineering at Arizona State University. The curriculum is designed by distinguished practitioners of water resources and power management. The curriculum is designed by distinguished practitioners of water resources and power management. The instructors have decades of experience and are among the most knowledgeable and recognized leaders in the field. 

This program will provide professional training to persons who are or will be managers of social institutions that have governance authority and institutional responsibility to develop, store and deliver water resources to the people they serve. As a distinguishing characteristic of our program this curriculum intentionally underweights social policy and value-based objectives such as for example, environmental restoration. The objective of this program is to train individuals who are or will be employed by public and private institutions tasked with managing water resources to be themselves more effective as managers. 

This is not a policy or theory-orientated program, and the instructors are practitioners who have experienced and solved the problems facing those running a successful district. It is intended to prepare the next generation of leaders who will require knowledge beyond just moving water from point to point. 

The program is designed for key personnel identified by water agencies (irrigation or electrical district, water conservation districts, etc.) who have the potential to advance to leadership positions. 

Classes will be held at the Arizona State University Polytechnic campus in Mesa, Arizona once a month on Friday afternoon and all-day Saturday, for a nine-month period. The class presentations can be telecast which provides an opportunity for students outside the Phoenix area to participate via live video conferencing. Cohort XIII will begin on September 26, 2025, and students will graduate on May 23, 2026.