April 12, 2019 / Volume 7, Issue 13
In this issue: Rod Lewis / Cobre Valley / APW / Internship
Celebrate Arizona Water Professionals Week 
with the WRRC
In honor of Arizona Water Professionals Week, which will be celebrated April 14-20, the WRRC is holding a flash sale and library giveaway. Water professionals will be fêted at the Arizona State Capitol on April 14. April 15-17 everyone can celebrate with the WRRC.

HALF-PRICE ARIZONA WATER MAPS APRIL 15-16
Maps are attractive, information-packed 2x3-foot posters. Order your maps on Monday, April 15 or Tuesday, April 16, and pay only $6.00 plus applicable tax and shipping charges.  Avoid shipping costs by visiting the WRRC on Thursday, April 17 and also enjoy our library giveaway.

To order, complete this form and enter the offer code: AWPW.

FREE BOOKS APRIL 17, 3-5 pm
If you come on Thursday, April 17, between 3:00 and 5:00 pm, you can take advantage of a book and document giveaway, including extra copies of past WRRC publications, reference books, desert landscaping CDs, and items of historical interest. Note: Refreshments will be served.
WRRC EVENTS
April 22, 2019
 
Speaker:  Brian Studenka, ITC Grid Development Director, Engineering and Policy
 
 
The Big Chino Valley Pumped Storage project is a 2,000 MW, 10-hour long duration greenfield pumped storage project being developed in northern Arizona. This project will help integrate the projected increase in renewable energy generation into the grid in the desert southwest region of the United States in a cost-effective and efficient manner. The Project is investing a great deal of effort into understanding the impacts of withdrawing groundwater for the reservoirs, so that a mitigation plan may be put in place that will result in a net positive for the water resources and the community in the area.

View the presentation
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. Note: Refreshments will be served.

View the presentation
WRRC NEWS
lewisDesert Waters International Symposium Honors Rod Lewis
 
The April 2-3, 2019 Desert Waters International Symposium offered exceptional opportunities to share water resource management experiences and perspectives from Arizona and South Australia. The most poignant element of the program, however, was how it began - by honoring the memory of Rodney Lewis of the Gila River Indian Community. This month is the one-year anniversary of his passing and we at the WRRC would like to share our deepest appreciation for all that Rod has contributed to us and others in the water world. Rod was a renowned attorney: the first Native American admitted to the Arizona State Bar in 1972 and the first Native American to argue a case before the United States Supreme Court. He also supported water education and communication in innumerable ways including serving as an advisory committee member for the Desert Waters Symposium. At the April symposium, his son, Governor Stephen Roe Lewis, spoke of Rod's tireless support, expertise, and friendship, which he provided to countless individuals and causes during his lifetime. Rod's uncommon commitment to building a water future for his people through the negotiation of the Arizona Water Rights Settlement Act of 2004, along with many other actions, will long be remembered. His wife,   Willardene  Pratt Lewis, and his daughter, Katherine Elizabeth Lewis, attended the dedication ceremony. Heartfelt comments were offered by Karen Francis-Begay, UA Assistant Vice President for Tribal Relations, and Jesse Navarro, Government and Community Relations Program Coordinator, presented a song. The memorial closed with an honor song by the Wildcat Nation Drum Group led by UA student Isaac   Desjarlais. All in attendance were moved by the remembrance of a man dedicated to improving the lives of his people and to seeking respectful and fair water management. This feeling was carried into the symposium and reverberated throughout the program and will continue into many of our future discussions.  
 
Learn more about the life and legacy of Rodney Lewis here
cobre WRRC Holds Second Cobre Valley Forum on Water
           
The Second Cobre Valley Forum on Water took place Tuesday, April 9th, at the Gila County Fairgrounds in Globe, Arizona. The forum continued conversations begun in September 2018 at the First Cobre Valley Forum on Water among stakeholders and leaders from government, industry, not-for-profit sectors and community activists on watershed issues. Between these two forums, the WRRC worked with community partners to move forward with goals defined in the first forum. On Tuesday, the speakers presented the results of that work and other pertinent topics, including a Cobre Valley water budget, Pinal Creek Trail pilot project, and innovative approaches to water education and awareness. UA architecture and planning students shared the results of a semester-long project developing options and plans for sites in Cobre Valley and the San Carlos Apache Reservation, and the UA's "Project Harvest" shared first-year data on the quality of locally harvested rainwater. Finally, a panel of stakeholders answered questions about challenges, aspirations, and potential solutions. The main themes that emerged from the forum were the importance of collaboration and the need for public education on water resources.

apwLeslie Clark Makes Water Stewardship Waves at Arizona Water Festival

 
After a day of hustle and bustle, the field is finally empty of 4th graders. Volunteers pack up the hands-on learning equipment strewn across the field where the annual Tucson Water Festival was just held. Among those volunteers is Leslie Clark, one of our returning Water Festival volunteers who believes in the power of water stewardship education. Leslie says she developed an interest in Arizona water from the moment she saw the Central Arizona Project canal. "I was amazed how Colorado Rocky Mountain snow melts into the Colorado River, running south along CAP canal to become Tucson drinking water," she said. Leslie is one of our many passionate Arizona Water Festival Program volunteers. She added, "WET workshops are intensive, well-planned, hands-on lessons. The children bring a lot of knowledge and enthusiasm, and make deeper connections with personal ways for their families to be water wise." In honor of National Volunteer Month, thank you, Leslie, for your hard work and dedication to water stewardship!
internSummer Writing Internship at the WRRC        
 
The WRRC is looking for a student with excellent writing skills and an interest in water issues for a summer internship. The intern will draft the WRRC's annual Arroyo, a recognized source of objective, accurate, and understandable information on a critical Arizona water issue. The Arroyo will draw on the WRRC's 2019 Annual Conference, "Arizona Runs on Water: Scarcity, Challenges, and Community-based Solutions" and will be based on conference materials, interviews, and public information resources. Applicants must be enrolled students at the University of Arizona. Students should apply to Susanna Eden at  [email protected] no later than 5:00 p.m., Tuesday, April 30, 2019.
 
ANNOUNCEMENTS