IN THIS ISSUE:
Reflections, Photo Contest, Brown Bag Recap, APW, AWRA, Cochise County AMA
Reflections: Partnering to Address
Food, Water, and Energy Security
The Colorado River Basin’s water and energy problems are well chronicled in studies and news reports. With the Colorado River’s low flows extending more than two decades and drawdown of water from Lakes Powell and Mead, water in storage is at historic lows. Moreover, the system’s hydropower is in jeopardy. Most critically, a “crash” of the system, wherein water would not flow below Hoover Dam, could be more than just a bad
sci-fi story. Work is ongoing to develop a consensus strategy that, at the least, increases water delivery cutbacks substantially over those associated with the official 2007 federal guidelines for sharing shortage. Partnerships among stakeholders with diverse expertise, experience, and perspectives will be vital to restoring system security.
EVENTS
WRRC Co-Sponsored Event: Water and Agriculture: Chile-Arizona Experience

Date: Nov 29, 2022
Time: 11:00 am–1:00 pm Arizona Time
Location: Webinar Only

The Agricultural Office of the Embassy of Chile in the US and the WRRC are co-hosting the webinar Water and Agriculture: Chile-Arizona Experience on November 29 from 11 am to 1 pm Arizona time and 3 to 5 pm Chile time. Registration is now open for this webinar, which will bring together key stakeholders, decision-makers, scientists, water experts, and others to discuss the developing projects to advance sustainable water resources and agriculture management. The discussion panel will feature a distinguished group of commentators from Chile and Arizona, including the Chilean Embassy’s Agricultural Attaché in the US Andres Rodrigues and CNR – Chile Head of Water Policies Javiera Herrera, along with the Yuma County Water Users Association General Manager Tom Davis, WRRC Director Sharon B. Megdal, and other knowledgeable UArizona specialists and researchers. Live translation of the webinar will be provided in both English and Spanish.
 
Native Voices in STEM Fall 2022 Seminar Series: An Indigenous Hydrogeochemist's Career Trajectory through Academia and Industry

Date: Nov 30, 2022
Time: 12:00 pm–1:00 pm Arizona Time
Location: Webinar Only
 
Speaker:
Kato Dee, Ph.D. (Diné), Assistant Professor, School of Geosciences, University of Oklahoma

Dr. Kato Tsosie Dee is a member of the Navajo Nation and is an Assistant Professor in the School of Geosciences at the University of Oklahoma with expertise in the areas of
hydrology and environmental geochemistry. Dr. Dee obtained his BS and MS in Geology from the University of Kansas and PhD in Geochemistry from the Colorado School of Mines. Dr. Dee started off his professional career in environmental consulting as a hydrogeochemist and then became the program director of the Colorado Mountain College Natural Resource Management program in Leadville, Colorado. Outside of his love of geoscience and hydrology, Dr. Dee enjoys trail running, skiing, and catching a good live show with his wife and boys.
NEWS
WRRC Photo Contest Ends December 16
 
The deadline is approaching to enter your Arizona water photos in the WRRC 2022 Photo Contest. The theme this year is Water Now! Living with Less. As in the past, photos must be taken in Arizona and feature water (present or absent). Categories include Water in Nature, Water in the Built Environment, and Water for Us (animals, livelihoods, and recreation), with a special category of Water in Arid/Semi-Arid Lands Beyond Arizona for photographers who travel beyond our borders. Winners will be saluted at the February 2023 Chocolate Fest and winning photographs will be featured on the WRRC website. Photographs also will be used in WRRC publications and outreach materials. We’ve received a bunch of great submissions already. Keep them coming!
Students Present 104(b) Grant Research

On November 10, two recipients of the 104(b) Grant Program presented their water-related research during a WRRC Brown Bag Webinar. Chandler Noyes, PhD candidate in Hydrology at UArizona’s Department of Hydrology and Atmospheric Sciences, began by providing an overview of his research using environmental isotopes and noble gases to study groundwater recharge variations in the Tucson basin. In his study, Noyes used a new-age tracer, argon, as well as others, to fill in the time gaps and reveal the characteristics and resiliency of Tucson’s groundwater resources during the mid-Holocene period to the present. Next, Simone A. Williams, PhD candidate in Arid Lands Resource Sciences at UArizona, shared her literature review research examining diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice in water dialogues. In her findings, she noted the importance of community engagement when conducting water governance or management. She emphasized that inclusion broadens diversity, enhances subject knowledge, and ensures water management effectiveness. In her presentation, Williams provided general guidelines to ensure environmental justice is upheld in water dialogue settings. The 104(b) grant is provided by the WRRC to fund student research on regionally relevant water topics. The grant is administered through USGS, and faculty and researchers at any of Arizona’s state universities are eligible to submit project proposals. The upcoming Request for Proposals will be available in December 2022.
Southwest Urban Corridor Integrated
Field Laboratory

In a continually warming climate, understanding how heat impacts everyday decisions, such as how we choose to travel, cool our homes, or spend time outdoors, is critical. By gathering data on our rapidly urbanizing southwestern communities, we can support scientists and policymakers in developing solutions that will help southwestern communities build resilience to a warming climate. Arizona Project WET (APW) is delighted to be a part of a $25M grant by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) for the Southwest Urban Corridor Integrated Field Laboratory (SW-IFL), led by Arizona State University with the University of Arizona, Northern Arizona University, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and IBM for climate change modeling, observations, and resilient solutions. APW will lead teacher workshops each year in Pima, Pinal, Maricopa, and Coconino Counties to engage students in community science that will contribute to SW-IFL. Students will perform scientific investigations of heat by collecting data in their own schools and neighborhoods and using that data to answer their own research questions. Newly developed SW-IFL project datasets will be accessible to students so they can connect their research to the larger southwest community. APW is excited to collaborate with researchers to bring their work to life in the classroom and instill students with a passion and curiosity for climate science!
UArizona Well Represented at AWRA
 
On November 8, 2022, WRRC Postdoctoral Researcher Valerisa Gaddy (Navajo Nation), Environmental Science PhD candidate Nikki Tulley (Navajo Nation), and undergraduate Hydrology and Atmospheric Sciences student Starlivia Kaska (Havasupai Tribe) joined Phil Ridgon (Yakama Nation) on the panel, Tribal Priorities in Water Resources, at the American Water Resources Association (AWRA) Annual Water Resources Conference. The panel was moderated by WRRC Director Sharon Megdal. The insights on Tribal and personal water priorities and connections were well received by the full room, with many questions following the panelists’ prepared remarks. The panel complemented that morning’s plenary keynote by James Rasmussen of the Duwamish Tribe and the following panel on Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Justice, for which Director Megdal was a panelist. There she shared some of the WRRC’s research on diversity and inclusion in water dialogues and educational efforts related to Indigenous perspectives on water resilience and water management.

Image: Phil Rigdon, Yakama Nation

First Citizen Initiated AMA Approved by Voters

On November 8, 2022, residents in two southeastern Arizona groundwater basins voted on whether to put limits on groundwater use. In addition to a choice of state and local candidates for public office, in Cochise County and a part of Graham County, some ballots contained a choice between the status quo and formation of an Active Management Area (AMA) for regulating groundwater withdrawals. Voters in the Willcox Basin rejected the proposed AMA by a two-to-one margin, while voters in the Douglas Basin embraced it. Opposition by most agricultural and business interests was led by Rural Water Assurance, a Political Action Committee; a grassroots coalition of residents in both basins, spearheaded by the locally based Arizona Water Defenders, supported the measure.

Image: Joseph Cook

WATER JOBS

Please visit WRRC's website for a complete listing of water jobs & opportunities.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
PUBLICATIONS & MEDIA
Research article: Mary-Belle Cruz Ayala & Cecilia Tortajada. 2022. “Managed Aquifer Recharge in Mexico: Proposals for an Improved Legal Framework and Public Policies.” Water International. https://doi.org/10.1080/02508060.2022.2132668 
OTHER NOTICES
Growing Water Smart: Integrated Water and Land Use Planning Workshop
The Sonoran Institute and the Babbitt Center for Land and Water Policy are hosting their 4th Growing Water Smart workshop in Phoenix on March 6-8, 2023. They are now accepting applications from local governments and water providers interested in better addressing water resource management issues through land use plans and policies. There is no cost for selected teams. Applications are due on December 12, 2022. More Info
 
Confluence: The Colorado River at the Compact’s Centennial 
This event will be held at the UArizona on Tuesday, December 6, 2022, from 8 am – 5:30 pm and features an array of Colorado River experts speaking about critical topics along “America's Nile.” In addition to discussing current conditions and future options, they will celebrate the publication of the Colorado River Compact centennial volume, 
Cornerstone at the Confluence: Navigating the Colorado River Compact's Next Century. Spaces are limited and open to the public, and in-person attendance is preferred. Refreshments will be served, books will be raffled, Cornerstone authors will be present, and a book reception will be held. For those unable to attend in person, Zoom attendance will be permitted by request. Please email requests to Amanda Leinberger at aleinberger@arizona.edu. More Info
 
Call for Abstracts: 2023 UCOWR / NIWR Annual Water Resources Conference
Abstract submissions are open for the 2023 UCOWR/NIWR Water Resources Conference, which will be held June 13-15, 2023, at Colorado State University. Abstracts (300 words max) for oral, poster, panel, lightning, and participatory presentations should be submitted electronically. The deadline to submit abstracts is January 30, 2023. Notification of acceptance will be in late February. More Info
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