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September 22, 2017 / Volume 5, Issue 24
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WRRC 2016 Annual Report Synopsis
Now Available for Download
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Each year, WRRC faculty and staff devote long hours to production of a detailed Annual Report, containing a wealth of information on our yearly accomplishments, finances, and multiple water programs across Arizona. We have now made available a 4-page synopsis of our 2016 Annual Report that can be downloaded here. This report contains metrics on all of our programs that address water issues with greater depth and broader perspective, towards a clear water future for Arizona.
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WRRC Brown Bag - Water, Wastewater, and Energy Solutions for Off-grid Bedouin, Palestinian, and Jordanian Communities
October 2, 2017
Time/Location: 4:00 p.m. - 5:30 p.m. / Hillel Foundation (1245 E. 2nd Street.)
Note special time and location.
**Parking available at 2nd Street Or Park Avenue Garages.
Speaker: Clive Lipchin, Director, Center for Transboundary Water Management at the Arava Institute
Co-Sponsors: Center for Middle Eastern Studies, Arizona Center for Judaic Studies
The Center for Transboundary Water Management at the Arava Institute for Environmental Studies in Israel is implementing an off-grid Food, Energy, Water (FEW) Nexus approach to addressing the need for conflict mitigation relating to transboundary environmental management. The project specifically implements on-site, off-grid solutions for communities lacking access to centralized water, wastewater, and energy infrastructure. The project includes greywater treatment and reuse systems; renewable energy; hydroponics micro-systems; and more. Work is being carried out in Palestinian communities in the West Bank, Jordanian farms in the Jordan Valley, and Bedouin communities in Israel's Negev Desert. Lessons learned in the Middle East can be used in addressing challenges in other arid regions of the world such as Native American communities in Arizona and New Mexico.
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 WRRC Brown Bag -
Adaptive Management and Water:
The Importance of Science to Public Policy and Water Management
October 9, 2017
Time/Location: 12:00 p.m. - 1:15 p.m. / WRRC Sol Resnick Conference Room (350 N. Campbell Ave.)
Speaker: Dave Wegner, Senior Scientific Consultant, Jacobs Engineering
Adaptive Management. Those two words have become integral to water policy and management actions since the mid-1990's. Coupling adaptive management with water legislation, policy, and agency operations has become a requirement for political and public support and action. Due to the variability of water resources, the unknown impacts of climate change and extreme events have made adaptive management a publicly required element, but has it been for the right reasons and to what success?
If you can't make it to the seminar on October 9, join us online
here.
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WRRC Brown Bag - Yuma Agriculture and the Yuma Center of Excellence for Desert Agriculture
October 17, 2017
Time/Location: 12:00 p.m. - 1:15 p.m. / WRRC Sol Resnick Conference Room (350 N. Campbell Ave.)
Speaker: Paul Brierley , Executive Director, Yuma Center of Excellence for Desert Agriculture
Yuma agriculture is in the top 0.5% of U.S. Counties in agricultural crop production, producing nearly 90% of North America's winter leafy greens, but it is always striving to overcome challenges and be even more productive. What makes it such a top producer? And how does the Yuma Center of Excellence for Desert Agriculture (YCEDA) support this amazing industry?
YCEDA is a public-private partnership between the Ag industry and the University of Arizona's College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. Guided by industry stakeholders, YCEDA brings together researchers and funding for projects ranging from irrigation and salinity management to disease mitigation, and from wildlife deterrence to drones and remote sensing
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Check out all of our upcoming
events and videos of previous events on our
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Congratulations to the Winners of the Arizona Pure Water Brew Challenge!
Something has been brewing in Arizona all summer, as municipal and UA water professionals have conducted a statewide contest to identify the finest beer brewed from purified recycled wastewater. On September 10th at the 32nd Annual WateReuse Symposium in Phoenix, judges announced the winners of the Arizona Pure Water Brew Challenge. Tucson's own Dragoon Brewing Company, with its Clear Water Pilsner, produced the winning beer, while Arizona Wilderness Brewing Company from Gilbert was a close runner up with their Pure Water IPA. Third place also went to a Tucson venue, the Crooked Tooth Brewing Company, and their Tamarind Sour Brown. The statewide contest included 26 brewers, more than 80,000 gallons of recycled wastewater, and more than 2,800 miles traveled by the Challenge team as they touted the many benefits of recycled water. Congratulations to all winners!
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Five Arizonans participate in Israel Conference
On September 10-11, five Arizonans participated in the "Cutting-Edge Solutions to Wicked Water Problems" conference, which was held at Tel Aviv University. WRRC Director Sharon Megdal and Professor Dror Avisar co-chaired the conference, which was co-convened by the American Water Resources Association and the Water Research Center of Tel Aviv University, which Professor Avisar directs. Megdal and WRRC Research Analyst Jacob Petersen-Perlman presented, as did Arizonans Mark Taylor and Kira Russo. Jennifer Brown moderated a session and UA Professor Randy Burd was in attendance. The two-day conference brought scientists, engineers, policy makers, and water managers together to discuss potential solutions to address some of the world's most pressing water challenges, including technological and institutional innovations to address problems in water quality and water quantity. Conference attendees were given the opportunity to attend a field trip to Sorek Desalination Plant (the world's largest desalination plant), a virtual tour of the Sea of Galilee, and a tour of Netafim, a company that is the world leader in drip irrigation. The documentary
Beyond the Mirage: The Future of Water in the West (produced in partnership with the WRRC) was also screened for conference participants.
More information about IALC
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Erin Gray Puts the A in Achievement
Erin Gray has been - business assistant, database manager, website consultant, Qualtrics expert, data analyzer, record keeper, impact reporter, and teaching-tool support manager on the APW team for the past two years. She's also been a smart and dedicated problem solver and a patient and kind colleague. So it's with great pride and a touch of sadness that we celebrate her becoming the Tucson Water Intern for the coming year.
Let us tell you a little bit about Erin. She has a degree in East Asian Studies with a focus on Japan and lived in China teaching English for three years. In 2014, she came back to the UA to get a B.S. in Environmental Hydrology and is currently in their accelerated Masters' Program.
Just last week Erin won First Place in the Arizona Hydrological Society Undergrad Poster Competition after receiving a $2000 AHS scholarship to attend the 2017-2018 Conference. But these achievements are just a drop in a bucket for Erin. In 2016-17 alone Erin has received a Donald R Davis Undergraduate Scholarship, a Donald R Davis Undergraduate with Distinction Award, an AZ Floodplain Management Scholarship, W Wright Foundation Scholarship, a Palantir Women in Technology Scholarship Finalist, and a Galileo Circle Scholarship.
We stand back now and watch her shine.
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The UA Community Honors the Memory of First WRRC Director Dick Kassander
Richard Kassander, Jr, "Dick", age 96, passed away on July 27, 2017 in Mesa, AZ. There will be a gathering in honor of Dick and his wife Sally at the Flandrau Planetarium on Monday, September 25, 2017 at 4:30 p.m. If you are attending please indicate number in your party via email to [email protected]. In lieu of flowers Dick would have been pleased by a contribution to one of the many causes he supported. Among them: University of Arizona Foundation, Tucson Community Foundation, American Cancer Foundation, American Red Cross, and
Hospice of the Valley
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Special Water Harvesting Session Held at Flagstaff Conference
A team from Tucson, consisting of representatives from the University of Arizona, Tucson Water, and Southwest Environmental Research Institute, traveled to Flagstaff last week to present a Special Session on water harvesting at the 14th Biennial Conference of Science & Management on the Colorado Plateau & Southwest Region. The session, titled "Community-wide rainwater harvesting programs in Arizona: what have we learned?" featured results of the first year of Project Harvest, a National Science Foundation funded research project engaging under-served communities in installing water harvesting systems and testing the quality of their harvested water. The emphasis on water quality research addresses an important knowledge gap, and several of the presentations dealt with assessing microbial, organic, and metal contamination potential. Talks on other water harvesting programs rounded out the session, touching upon acceptance, incentives, intangible benefits, and environmental justice. WRRC Associate Director Jean McLain and Assistant Director Susanna Eden participated in organizing and presenting the session. The conference convened resource scientists and managers from across the Southwest region for four days devoted to the theme of interdisciplinary approaches and solutions for conserving the Southwest's land, water, biodiversity, and cultures.
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Grants offered by Reclamation through the WaterSMART Program
On September 18th, Jessica Asbill-Case, Water Resources Program Manager in the U.S Bureau of Reclamation Phoenix Office, presented a Brown Bag at the WRRC. Ms. Asbill-Case described the many opportunities for funding through Reclamation's WaterSMART Grants program. The goal of these funding and project-support programs is to help entities build sustainable water strategies to help meet the Nation's future water needs. Ms. Asbill-Case covered a breadth of Reclamation Programs including the Basin Study Program, the Title XVI Program, WaterSMART Grants, Water Conservation Field Services, the Drought Response Program, and the Cooperative Watershed Management Program. In each case, she provided details about topics such as cost share, eligibility, and funding as well as giving examples of Arizona funded projects. In addition, she provided information about NEPA (National Environmental Policy Act) requirements, how to learn about and apply for grants, and tips for creating better proposals or getting early feedback.
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WATER RESOURCES RESEARCH CENTER
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