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September 20, 2019 / Volume 7, Issue 21
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Cobre Valley Student Project Recognized at American Planning Association Conference
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On September 12, the student project "Cobre Valley Cheer:543 Framework" received an honorable mention award at Arizona's American Planning Association conference in Oro Valley. The project was based on a collaboration among the WRRC, Gila County, and the College of Architecture, Planning, and Landscape Architecture (CAPLA) to develop planning resources for the Globe-Miami area.
As part of a capstone course, l
ed by Assistant Professor Arlie Adkins, six graduate planning students assessed the region and developed a framework to increase economic development opportunities through the lens of environmental stewardship. WRRC Research Analyst, Ashley Hullinger, served on the project advisory committee, helping to arrange stakeholder meetings and providing feedback and background information about the region.
Shortly after student project awards, Ashley led a panel session with CAPLA team members and WRRC Graduate Assistant Paul La Farga on the project's framework and received insightful feedback from an audience of planning professionals.
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WRRC Brown Bag -
An Update on the Santa Cruz River Heritage Project
October 8, 2019
Speakers:
Maya Teyechea, Project Hydrologist and
Dick Thompson, Lead Recharge Hydrologist,
Tucson Water
Time/Location: 12:00 p.m. - 1:15 p.m., WRRC Sol Resnick Conference Rm., 350 N. Campbell Ave., Tucson.
The Santa Cruz River Heritage Project recharges reclaimed water and establishes a riparian area in downtown Tucson. This presentation will present how we planned, permitted and executed the project and its current operation. We will share observations made so far as well as some future expectations.
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Upcoming Brown Bags
- October 16, Channah Rock, Professor, UA/ENVS, "Food Borne Disease Outbreaks"
- October 23, Itzchak E. Kornfeld, Professor, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, "Environmental Law"
- October 28, Eran Feitelson, Professor, Hebrew University of Jerusalem "Will Desalination Resolve the Israeli-Arab Water Conflicts? And if not, why?" (Special Time/Location)
- November 8, Haley Paul, Policy Manager, Audubon Arizona, "The Economic Impact of Arizona's Rivers, Lakes, and Streams"
- November 19, Betsy Wilkening, Ladd Keith, Nicole Iroz-Elardo, UA/APW and CAPLA, "Heat Mapping"
- December 4, Laura Condon, Assistant Professor, UA/HAS, "Effects of Groundwater Pumping"
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Arizona Runs on Water - Water 101
October 17, 2019
Time/Location: 6:00 p.m. - 7:30 p.m., Maricopa County Cooperative Extension, 4341 E. Broadway Rd., Phoenix, AZ 85040 (Palo Verde Room)
- Where does your water come from and how is it used?
- How is it managed?
- What about agriculture and landscaping - what is their water story?
Learn about and discuss these issues at the Arizona Runs on Water Cooperative Extension Education Series!
Water 101 is the first in the series, which also includes separate evening sessions on Water for Agriculture and Water for Turf/Landscape. Light refreshments will be served and youth education activities with Arizona Project WET will be available in the adjacent room (6 or older, please.) Seating is limited; reserve your spot today.
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 Brown Bag Seminar Speaker Challenges Arizona Water Users to Make Difficult Choices
The WRRC Brown Bag seminar on Wednesday, September 18 offered a historical overview of Arizona's water development and management, with a message. In a presentation packed with information, Dr. Paul Hirt, Senior Sustainability Scholar at Arizona State University, highlighted Arizona's water challenges and solutions. He presented evidence that despite the landmark 1980 Groundwater Management Act, Arizona has largely relied on supply augmentation - finding new sources of water - to respond to water scarcity and increasing demand. He emphasized that a decline of CAP deliveries in the face of climate change and Colorado River shortages threatens to undermine much of the progress that has been made in curtailing unsustainable groundwater use. His predictions for the state's water future contained some disruptive changes. In closing, Hirt suggested that because there is no large new source of water to enable a business-as-usual approach, hard decisions should be confronted now, rather than managing from crisis to crisis.
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Arizona Commerce Authority Recognizes UA Contributions to Freshwater Science
Arizona is the only state that contains all four North American deserts (the Sonoran, Great Basin, Mohave, and Chihuahuan). It is perhaps no coincidence that Arizona has the highest concentration of water experts in the country given its limited water resources. The Arizona Commerce Authority recently highlighted several efforts UA is making in freshwater science. Researchers at the UA are working on solar thermal-driven desalination, new water treatment and energy technologies, water-efficient food-growing systems, and more. The WRRC is also recognized in the article for providing a forum for the public to consider and evaluate solutions; promoting research, analysis, and collaboration; and opening up dialogue to ensure sound water stewardship for Arizona, the West, and beyond.
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APW Hosts Coordinators Conference and Training
The Arizona Project WET team is excited to be hosting the Project WET Coordinators Conference and Training this week. Educators and Project WET coordinators from all over the United States will gather to learn, share, and increase the reach of water education throughout the country. Our team is excited to share the story of water in Arizona with colleagues, collaborate with others to build a stronger network, and show off some of the best places in the state during field experiences.
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Donald Slack honored by Mexican University
UA Agriculture and Biosystems Engineering Professor Donald Slack was recently honored by a Mexican university for his career achievements. Dr. Slack received an honorary doctorate and medal in July from Mexico's Chapingo Autonomous University in Texcoco. He has worked closely with the university for nearly 30 years, helping to create Chapingo's graduate programs in agricultural engineering, hosting undergraduate interns from Chapingo at UA, and serving as a visiting professor there. Slack is well-known in the engineering world for his work in on-farm water management practices, irrigation systems and technologies, watershed hydrology, erosion control, and the production of biofuels from sorghum.
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Where Are They Now? Lucero Radonic
This is the first in a new Weekly Wave occasional series reporting on the activities of WRRC alums.
Lucero Radonic received her Ph.D. from the University of Arizona in 2014 and joined the Michigan State University Anthropology Department as an Assistant Professor the same year. At the WRRC, she was a Graduate Assistant - Outreach from August 2013 to June 2014. During that time, she became a valued member of the WRRC team and contributed several articles to the AWR newsletter. At MSU she is affiliated with the Environmental Science and Policy Program and engages in research on political ecology and water governance. Her research has brought her back to Tucson for a project investigating the change in how people regard rainwater. Instead of focusing on the nuisance flooding that comes with each heavy rain, people here are beginning to think of rainwater as a resource to be captured and used. By developing an understanding of the dynamics of this change, Dr. Radonic's research has the potential to make an actual impact on policies that affect people's lives. She is currently on maternity leave but plans to return to work at the end of November.
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