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September 2, 2022 / Volume 10, Issue 21
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IN THIS ISSUE:
Upcoming Events, Brown Bag Recap, Extension Conference, New Grad Student, ADWR
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What’s Next? Upcoming WRRC Fall Events |
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The Fall 2022 semester is upon us, and the WRRC is preparing for another exciting season of Brown Bag Webinars and other events. We kicked off the new academic year with two Brown Bags, discussing the recently released Pima County Water Factsheet and the Rio Reimagined Initiative on the Salt-Gila River corridor. Recordings of both webinars are now available on our website. While our upcoming events calendar is still subject to changes and additions, we are looking forward to some excellent presentations! Our next Brown Bag Webinar will be Monday, September 12, when we will hear about the National Water Reuse Action Plan from Sharon Nappier, the National Program Leader for Water Reuse in the Office of Water at the US Environmental Protection Agency. On Tuesday, September 20, we’ll learn about the making of a recently released series of educational videos on groundwater, produced by Arizona Project Wet.
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WRRC Brown Bag Webinar: Water Reuse Action Plan and REUSExplorer Demo
Date: Sep 12, 2022
Time: 12:00 pm–1:15 pm Arizona Time
Speaker: Sharon Nappier, National Program Leader for Water Reuse, US Environmental Protection Agency
The National Water Reuse Action Plan (WRAP) helps drive progress on reuse by leveraging the expertise of scientists, policymakers, and local experts across the country to create a more resilient water future for communities of all sizes. The collaborative launched in February 2020 with federal, state, Tribal, local, and water sector partners to build state and local capacity to pursue reuse practices that help to solve local water resource challenges. There are currently more than 100 organizations partnering on 56 actions in the plan, ranging from scientific and technical advancements in water reuse to better policy and coordination across jurisdictions. The presentation will highlight progress across the WRAP actions and provide a demo of a new tool: Regulations and End-Use Specifications Explorer (REUSExplorer). The REUSExplorer compiles state water reuse regulations and guidelines and highlights the underlying scientific and technical basis of water quality metrics. This new web-based tool, developed by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and partners under WRAP Action 3.1, is searchable by state, source of water, and end-use application to assist states interested in developing regulations and help utilities and practitioners to better understand current regulations. The first end-uses available include potable water reuse, onsite non-potable reuse, and other centralized non-potable reuse applications, not including agricultural and landscape reuse applications. The REUSExplorer is available at http://www.epa.gov/reusexplorer.
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CLE 10th Annual Tribal Water Law Conference: Water Security on the Path to Resiliency
Date: Sep 19-20, 2022
Time: 8:30 am–5:30 pm Arizona Time
The 10th Annual Tribal Water Law Conference will be delivered live and in person. Participate to get important updates on the most critical water issues facing Native American communities today. Hear from Tribes, attorneys, government leaders, academia, and environmental specialists. Don't miss the chance to network with colleagues, earn professional credit, and stay up-to-date!
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Upcoming Events
Oct 13: WRRC Brown Bag Webinar: The Water Recycling Revolution: History and Lessons from Four Western States – Save the Date
Oct 20: WRRC Special Event: Thirst for Justice – Save the Date
Nov 10: WRRC Brown Bag Webinar: 104(b) Grant Program: Student Research Presentations – Save the Date
Nov 18: WRRC Brown Bag Webinar: Watershed Collaboration in the Tucson Basin: Santa Cruz Watershed Collaborative Adopts a Watershed Restoration Plan to Promote Flowing Rivers – Save the Date
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The Rio Reimagined: Partnerships for Urban Water Resilience
This week, the WRRC hosted a well-attended webinar panel titled “The Rio Reimagined Initiative: River and Community Revitalization Along the Salt - Gila River Corridor.” Webinar moderator and presenter Melissa McCann, director of ASU’s University City Exchange, opened with an overview of the initiative’s objectives aimed at protecting and revitalizing the 58-mile riparian corridor and its surrounding communities. Through inclusive and sustainable projects, the initiative prioritizes health and wellness, watershed management, and green infrastructure, while promoting urban resilience, community pride, and economic development. The Rio Reimagined Initiative is driven by collaborations with government, nonprofit and private sector partners. McCann was joined by three initiative partners including R.J. Cardin, the director of Maricopa County Parks and Recreation. He introduced the audience to the Maricopa County Parks Vision 2030 plan, which focuses on preserving and expanding the regional park systems. Following Cardin’s presentation, Nichole Engelmann with the US Fish and Wildlife Service presented on the Rio Reimagined Urban Program, which is dedicated to conserving, protecting, and enhancing ecosystems for the benefit of communities. To conclude the panel, Tice Supplee, director of bird conservation with Audubon Southwest, presented on behalf of the Lower Gila River Collaborative (LGRC). In partnership with the Rio Reimagined Initiative, LGRC is a nonprofit dedicated to habitat enhancement on the western side of the Salado River using stewardship, outreach, and engagement approaches.
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Recent Extension Conference Featured Engaging Keynote and Panel Discussion
The University of Arizona Cooperative Extension System held its annual conference on August 10-12, the recordings of which are now available. The conference is an opportunity for Extension personnel, representing a wide range of programs from throughout the State, to gather to learn about others’ activities and the opportunities and challenges for extension work in Arizona. On the opening day, WRRC Director Sharon B. Megdal participated in the panel, “Arizona’s Water Resources: Progress, Politics, and Possibilities.” Following an engaging overview of the “Hydroclimate of the Colorado River Basin” from UArizona Climatologist and Extension Specialist Mike Crimmins, Megdal gave a two-part presentation coving the importance of context for understanding the three “Ps” in focus for the panel: progress, politics, and possibilities in Arizona's water resources. Megdal also added another “P” for water policy, further framing her presentation. Tom Davis, general manager of the Yuma County Water Users’ Association, then joined the panel to share some of the real challenges facing Yuma agriculture and the State in light of the developing Colorado River shortage. Following Davis’ comments, Sharon Megdal returned for the second part of her presentation, bringing some optimism to the discussion. She detailed some of the opportunities and pathways to solutions for addressing the water challenges we face and emphasized that we all have a role to play as water stakeholders.
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WRRC Welcomes New Coverdell Fellow Graduate Outreach Assistant
The WRRC is pleased to welcome Taylor Simmons, our new Coverdell Fellow Graduate Outreach Assistant. The UArizona Peace Corps Coverdell Fellows Program assists returning Peace Corps Volunteers in their efforts to attain graduate degrees and partner with organizations around Tucson. Taylor is pursuing her Master’s in Environmental Health Science with a focus on water quality and citizen science. She served as a Community Health Educator in Cameroon from 2019 – 2020. With the help of her counterparts in Cameroon, she facilitated food demonstrations, taught high school English, started a community garden, and had dreams of implementing grants won in the community when the COVID-19 evacuation took place. More recently, she has worked as a Health and Safety Director of a composting facility that diverted food waste, thereby reducing air and water pollution in eastern Tennessee. She will be working with WRRC on the Arizona Water Factsheets, research, and outreach. She is excited to be working with such a great team dedicated to water-related issues in underserved, arid communities. In her free time, she enjoys hiking, running, reading, and spending time with her family. Welcome, Taylor, to the WRRC!
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ADWR Provides Water Maps and Data
The Arizona Department of Water Resources (ADWR) has recently announced public information resources are now available on a section of its public website devoted to maps and data. Some are new, and others have been available for a while. Eight maps are interactive, which means that either clicking on the map or using the search function will bring up information on the map topic. The map on Community Water Systems (CWS) identifies the water provider for a map location or address, shows the boundaries of its service area, and lists other data about the provider. It also shows the location of the providers’ wells, both active and inactive. Another map gives access to information about the Assured Water Supply status of a development or municipal water provider in the same way.
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Please visit WRRC's website for a complete listing of water jobs & opportunities.
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US Global Change Research Program call for input on 5-year plan for research on climate intervention: Submit by September 9. More Info
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Water Infrastructure Finance Authority Board applications open. More Info
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