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August 24, 2018 / Volume 6, Issue 20
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WRRC Publishes Article About Conference in
The Water Report
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An article about the 2018 WRRC Conference, "The Business of Water," was published in the July issue of The Water Report, a monthly newsletter for water professionals throughout the western United States.
This conference brought together more than 350 people involved in the water world and featured experts from business, utilities, and government, philanthropic organizations, and non-profits operating in the state of Arizona and beyond. Written by Assistant Director Susanna Eden, Research Analyst Jacob Petersen-Perlman, and graduate students Victoria Hermosilla and Jake Golden, the article summarizes the issues discussed at the conference including the foundational value of water, partnerships that take advantage of complementary strengths, water transactions, and ethics and social responsibility. As we prepare for our upcoming conference in February, we are gratified and pleased to see that discussions and ideas shared during the 2018 conference are of interest and pertinence to others in the West.
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August 28, 2018
Speaker:
Timothy Thomure,
Director
, Tucson Water
In 2016, the City of Tucson initiated a discussion about using reclaimed water to restore perennial flow to a portion of the Santa Cruz River near downtown Tucson. This action could support riparian habitat in the urban core, improve long-term water management in the region, and stimulate economic activity. The concept was well received by a multitude of stakeholders and Tucson Water began the task of bringing this vision to reality. In May 2019, perennial flow will return to the Santa Cruz River near the base of Sentinel Peak, and a new era of water management will begin.
If you cannot make the presentation on August 28, you can join us here.
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September 4, 2018
Speaker: Meghan Smart,
Environmental Scientist III, ADEQ/Citizen Science
Arizona Water Watch (AWW), a new citizen science program offered through the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality, is designed to train volunteers to collect credible scientific data on streams and lakes in Arizona. The program uses innovative ideas like visually friendly forms, hand-stitched cloth streams for teaching, micro video lessons, and crowd-sourcing data techniques to reach many levels of volunteers.
This presentation will discuss the fundamentals of building a citizen science-based program, discuss lessons learned, and highlight some of the amazing work Arizona's citizen scientists are doing to aid in the protection of our waterbodies.
If you cannot make the presentation on September 4, you can join us here.
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Other Upcoming Fall Brown Bags
- September 18 Courtney Crosson, Assistant Professor, UA CAPLA, Innovating the Urban Water System
- September 27 Susanna Eden, Assistant Director, UA WRRC, Irrigated Agriculture in Arizona
- November 8 Chase Saraiva, Head Brewer, Wilderness Brewing Co., Sustainability and Beer
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Water Roots - River Walk: A Sunset Tour to Illustrate a New Vision for the Rillito
August 28, 2018
Speakers:
Catlow Shipek,
Policy and Technical Director, Watershed Management Group
Trevor Hare,
River Restoration Biologist, Watershed Management Group
Dennis Caldwell,
Owner, Caldwell Design
Join us for a special sunset walking tour along the Rillito Loop path that will highlight river restoration opportunities and actions and the local flora and fauna, including Mexican free-tailed bat viewing from the North Campbell Street Bridge. Don't forget your walking shoes - we will begin at St Phillip's Plaza for a 1-mile loop on the Rillito River Park Trail.
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Upper Gila Watershed Forum - How Do We Adapt to a Hotter and Drier Future?
September 28, 2018
Speakers:
TBA
The annual Upper Gila Watershed Forum on September 28th in Thatcher Arizona will feature daylong discussion, presentations, and activities focused on "Adapting to a Hotter and Drier Future." Explore how increasing heat and drought are affecting agricultural, business, municipal, and conservation practices, and what communities and individuals are doing to adapt.
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Summary of World Bank-OECD Water Workshop Available
In May 2018, the World Bank and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) held a workshop on facilitating policy change towards sustainable water use in agriculture. Irrigated agriculture remains the largest user of water globally and while policies that respond to water sustainability challenges have been identified, they are not always applied where needed or implemented effectively. WRRC Director Dr. Sharon Megdal was among the 35 invited participants from national and international organizations and universities. A summary of the workshop was released earlier this week and is available on the OECD website. The summary synthesizes key points raised by participants during the workshop sessions and highlights topics such as core drivers to policy changes, conserving water under scarcity, regulating groundwater use to mitigate aquifer depletion, water charging and pricing for agriculture, and regulating nonpoint source pollution.
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WRRC Readies Itself for a New Semester
While the students were enjoying summer break, the WRRC was actively preparing for an exciting fall semester. Now that students have returned to campus, we will be starting our Fall 2018 Brown Bag series - we already have four great talks lined up before October. We have also begun planning for our February 1, 2019 Annual Conference, to be held in Phoenix, and are actively engaging photographers with our 2018 Photo Contest. The WRRC welcomes academics, students, water professionals, and interested citizens to our many events for discussion and debate about water topics of current interest - please come and join us this fall. Be sure to watch this Weekly Wave e-news digest (returning to weekly publication with this issue) for information on all events.
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Promoting Change Through Water Education
Water, Ecosystems and Human Health is the theme of this year's World Water Week conference, occurring August 26th- 31st, in Stockholm, Sweden. This year's topic highlights the growing need for education and outreach to ensure every citizen has access to safe drinking water. Even now,
"every minute a newborn dies from infection caused by lack of safe water and an unclean environment," according to the World Health Organization (2015).
As water researchers and community leaders, it is our responsibility to lessen the impacts of unclean water by promoting practical solutions to water crises. We've have done it before and we can do it again. The chronic problem of typhoid fever has been virtually eliminated by introducing chlorine into public water supplies.
Arizona Project WET does its part by delivering practical, leading edge water education to students and teachers around the state. How will you help?
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USGS Publishes Fact Sheet on Brackish Water as a Resource in the Southwest
Brackish groundwater is an unconventional water source that may offer a partial solution to current and future water demands. The U.S. Geological Survey recently published Fact Sheet 2018-3010, which describes brackish water resources within five principal southwestern aquifers in the southwestern United States, specifically in the Southwest Basins region. These aquifers span Arizona, New Mexico, Utah, Nevada, and California, and parts of Colorado and Idaho. The Fact Sheet explains the modeling methodology used to extrapolate from well observations in order to estimate the total brackish water resources in the region. It then discusses the potential for developing and using brackish groundwater to meet water resource needs. Additional data on brackish water resources can be found in the national brackish groundwater assessment, which is the basis for the fact sheet.
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