Blurred Ecologies and Infrastructural Repair

The desert landscape of central Arizona has a deep history of infrastructure entanglement. For centuries, the possibilities of life have been mediated by the capacity of these systems to collect, store, divert, and channel water. The Akimel O’otham and Hohokam people, for example, have managed the flow of water through a dense network of channels, expanding riparian ecologies to produce a surplus of crops, grazing lands, and water. These systems were, in turn, co-opted and circumvented by settler colonial populations. Continued development, particularly around Phoenix and Tucson, has driven an ongoing intensification of water infrastructure, extending the footprint of extraction out to the Colorado River, drawing in an increasing network of dams, reservoirs, pumping stations, power plants, coal mines, communities and ecologies. These networks, transecting the desert landscapes, hardened against seepage, reinforces a rigid disconnection between the built and natural environment that both deepens dependence on and obscures the impact of these extractive relationships. The recent water crisis in the region underscores the unsustainable nature of current systems. This research explores opportunities for repair and transformation, aiming to reconnect water infrastructure with its social and ecological context. Drawing on a historical survey of indigenous and settler infrastructure, alongside emerging approaches like canal-spanning solar power, it examines how these systems can become more ecologically and socially responsive. Focusing on three case study sites—desert wilderness, agriculture, and suburban development—the study investigates how to blur the boundaries between rigid infrastructure and the surrounding ecosystem. The goal is to foster a more reciprocal relationship, reducing carbon footprints and supporting environmental and social engagement. By introducing these “seepages” into infrastructure, the research advocates for a renewed ethic of repair, promoting exchange and renewal in our fractured landscapes.