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March 29, 2019 / Volume 7, Issue 11
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UA Hosts International
Water Symposium
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No one wants to see rivers go dry or wildlife disappear from the Arizona landscape. This is the motivation behind the Desert Waters International Symposium,
being held on Tuesday, April 2 from 1:00 to 5:00 p.m. and Wednesday, April 3 from 8:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at the ENR2 Building in Tucson, Arizona.
The event, organized by the WRRC and Sky Island Alliance in coordination with colleagues from South Australia, will exchange lessons learned about "what works" for providing water to natural areas alongside human uses.
The symposium is an excellent opportunity to exchange knowledge and ideas on issues vital to one of the pillars of Arizona's economy - the natural environment.
The event features a keynote address by the Honorable Stephen Roe Lewis, Governor of the Gila River Indian Community, introduced by WRRC Director Sharon B. Megdal. There are six panels with expert speakers addressing the complexities, lessons learned, and ethics, as well as the cooperation necessary to sustain water's critical value in environmentally important areas.
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April 24, 2019
Speaker:
Tanya M. Quist, Ph. D. Associate Professor, School of Plant Sciences. Director, University of Arizona Campus Arboretum
Tree and urban landscapes provide an opportunity for every citizen to contribute to climate resilience through informed plant selection and sustainable management practices. Join us for this talk aimed at empowering urban communities through understanding principles and practices of horticultural science and through exploration of resources and tools available.
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In September 2018, leaders from government, industry, and not-for-profit organizations shared their water experiences and lessons at the First Cobre Valley Forum on Water. We learned about local and regional opportunities to create a more resilient water future for healthy communities, businesses, and the environment. Since then, the WRRC and community partners have been working to make progress on some of the top priorities related to water and community well-being that emerged from the first Forum. Join us to learn about recent progress and project results, engage with local decision makers, ask questions, and share ideas about water in the Globe-Miami area.
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WRRC Director Presents at Spring Runoff Conference
The Utah State University (USU) Water Initiative holds the Spring Runoff Conference annually on its campus in Logan, Utah. The conference is meant to provide a forum for interdisciplinary sharing and exchange of water-related issues in Utah and the Intermountain Region. The WRRC was represented in USU's March 26th conference by WRRC Director Sharon B. Megdal, who presented "Water Challenges in the Lower Colorado River Basin and the Drought Contingency Plan". Megdal discussed the process of creating the Lower Basin Drought Contingency Plan, whose purpose is to address the structural water deficit in the Lower Basin and to avoid potential mandatory cutbacks. Her presentation also described Arizona's path to implementing the plan through the cooperation of multiple organizations, governments, and NGOs.
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Project Harvest Empowers Citizens to Test Harvested Water
On March 19, the WRRC Brown Bag featured a presentation on Arizona Project Harvest, an effort to engage community members to determine the health of their harvested rainwater, soil, and plants through citizen science. The presentation began with an overview by Dr. Mónica Ramírez-Andreotta, who is the Director/PI for the program. Flor Sandoval, Co-PI and Senior Program Manager, SWES students AJ Moses, Jesus Solis-Leon, and Norma Villagomez-Marquez, as well as Leona Davis, College of Education, and Dorsey Kaufmann, School of Art, also contributed portions of the presentation. The project seeks to answer a series of questions including: Are there pollutants in harvested rainwater? If so, do these pollutants get trapped in soils? Do plants accumulate these pollutants? If so, could pollutants in homegrown food affect health? The project has engaged 163 participants in four Arizona communities: Dewey-Humboldt, Globe/Miami, Hayden, Winkelman, and Tucson. Students have been working to facilitate sampling and testing. They are also looking at the efficacy of the educational aspects and how art can be used to enhance communication of results.
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Multiplying the Benefits of Water Efficiency
What does improving the efficiency of water distribution systems and reducing leakage have to do with climate change? According to
Project Drawdown, if applied globally, it could reduce CO2 emissions by 0.87 gigatons! Those same researchers predict that installation of high-efficiency fixtures and changes in irrigation practices could reduce CO2 emissions by 4.61 gigatons annually. Project Drawdown brings together a diverse group of researchers from around the world to identify, research, and model the top 100 substantive, existing solutions to address climate change. They have identified a path forward that can roll back global greenhouse gas emissions within thirty years.
So, when APW celebrates World Water Day (March 22) and Fix A Leak Week (March 18-24), we think broadly about how local action can address global issues. That's why our Recharge the Rain teachers not only focus on recharging the rain to grow the trees, mitigate flooding and save drinking water, they are also teaching their students climate science. One of them,
Ariane Mohr-Felsen from Paulo Freire Freedon School became a Project Drawdown fellow this year, supporting the work of developing curriculum to bring Project Drawdown (and water awareness!) into even more classrooms.
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Photo credit Natalie Brassill
University of Arizona
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Water Quality Research Makes a Splash in National News
In recognition of World Water Day, the Crop, Soil, and Agronomy Societies of America published a story highlighting the research of WRRC Research Scientist Jean McLain and colleagues. The research project, with collaborators McLain, Dr. Channah Rock, and Dr. Chuck Gerba, compares methods used to enumerate E. coli in irrigation water samples. The three cooperating laboratories receive the same water samples for analysis, and results are compared to identify factors that can contribute to variability in results. The ultimate goal of the project is to develop a user-friendly guide for the fresh produce industry that can help to guide analyses and ensure consistently accurate test results.
Read the entire story here
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Campus-Wide Sustainability
The UA Sustainability Map is an interactive online map that visually plots campus sustainability efforts. Launched in spring 2017, the project is led by the UA Enterprise Geographic Information System, a service in Planning, Design and Construction that maps UA properties. Phase 2 of the project is now available and contains three new layers with information about the people, events, and news related to each project. It also includes updates to the look and usability of the site, making it more user-friendly for desktop web browsers. The map's creators hope it becomes a go-to resource for data on campus sustainability.
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