IN THIS ISSUE: Valerisa Gaddy, UACE Survey, AHS, APW, ABWC, Morning Scoop
Dr. Valerisa Gaddy Named 2022 MIT Solve Fellow
WRRC post-doctoral researcher Valerisa Gaddy has been selected as an MIT Solve Fellow for 2022-2023. Her tech-based solution, "IRRIGaTE: Irrigation Resources Reaching Indigenous Growers and Tribal Entities” addresses the difficulties of science and policy communication between Tribal farmers and non-tribal policymakers through a multimedia platform. The highly anticipated platform will be released in December 2022 and is already generating buzz as Tribal Business News reports.

Gaddy’s project is one of 40 solutions selected for this year’s Global Challenges which had over 1,100 solutions submitted. In September, Gaddy traveled to New York City, NY to receive the award and pitch her solution to potential investors to scale IRRIGaTE.

The MIT Solve is a marketplace for social impact innovation. Through open innovation Challenges, Solve finds incredible tech-based social entrepreneurs all around the world. Solve then brings together MIT’s innovation ecosystem and a community of Members to fund and support these entrepreneurs to help them drive lasting, transformational impact.
EVENTS
Native Voices in STEM Fall 2022 Seminar Series: Collaborative Hydrology Research with the Navajo Nation

Date: Sep 28, 2022
Time: 12:00 pm–1:00 pm MST (Same as PDT)
Location: Webinar Only
 
Speaker: Lani Tsinnajinnie, Assistant Professor, Community and Regional Planning,
University of New Mexico

Lani Tsinnajinnie is an assistant professor in Community and Regional Planning. Lani is Diné and Filipino and was born and raised in New Mexico. Her home community of
Na’Neelzhiin lies in the easternmost area (also known as “Checkerboard area”) of the Navajo Nation.

Lani received a BS in Environmental Science, a BA in Native American Studies, and a Master of Water Resources degree from the University of New Mexico. Following her
studies at UNM, she received her PhD in Earth and Environmental Science with a dissertation in Hydrology from New Mexico Tech.

Lani’s expertise is in mountain and watershed hydrology. Her research focuses on groundwater and surface water interactions in semiarid mountainous watersheds and
impacts of climate change on mountainous watersheds She’s had previous experience collaborating with the Navajo Nation and other tribes and communities in New Mexico in
the various environmental work she has done and hopes to further collaborate with more Indigenous communities and New Mexican communities.
WRRC Brown Bag Webinar: The Water Recycling Revolution: History and Lessons from Four Western States

Date: Oct 13, 2022
Time: 12:00 pm–1:15 pm Arizona Time
Location: Webinar Only
 
Speaker: William M. Alley, Director, Science and Technology, National Ground Water Association

This WRRC Brown Bag presentation reviews the history of potable reuse and lessons learned by examining the key roles of Arizona, California, Colorado, and Texas. Case studies illustrate varying conditions that motivate potable reuse, challenges in implementation, and its potential future as urban population growth, environmental needs, and climate change pressure drinking water supplies of cities across the country.
Upcoming Events

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

Nov 29: Water and Agriculture: Chile-Arizona Experience; Co-hosted by the Agricultural Office of the Embassy of Chile in the US and the University of Arizona Water Resources Research Center; 11:00 am to 1:00 pm Arizona time – Save the Date

NEWS
2022 Cooperative Extension Statewide Needs Assessment Survey is LIVE! 

The University of Arizona Cooperative Extension (UACE) wants to hear from you for their 2022 Statewide Needs Assessment. The purpose of the needs assessment is to understand community needs and assets across the state as a basis for examining and prioritizing Extension activities to maximize their impact now and into the future. As a unit of UACE, the WRRC is part of a nationwide network of scientists and educators who work with communities to solve problems using scientific and local knowledge. UACE has offices in every county in Arizona and on some Tribal lands, connecting the university to communities throughout the state. By completing this 15-minute survey, you will be helping UACE make important choices about how to best continue serving the community through programs and partnerships. The survey is open until October 31. Please reach out to cred@arizona.edu with any questions.

Image: USDA
WRRC Grad Research Assistant Presented at AHS Symposium

The Arizona Hydrological Society held their 34th Annual Symposium from September 14–16. In their keynote addresses, Speaker of the Arizona House, Rusty Bowers, and Arizona Department of Water Resources Director, Tom Buschatzke, discussed challenges associated with Colorado River shortages and Arizona’s role in sharing the additional 2 to 4 million acre-feet of annual reductions needed to stabilize the Colorado River system. Measures under consideration include charging evaporative losses to CAP contracts, limiting distribution of stored groundwater for non-functional turf use, and changing the definition of “beneficial use” to exclude some water-intensive crops. Speaker Bowers also suggested that there may not be sufficient water available to support current rates of growth and development in the state.
Symposium technical sessions covered a wide range of topics and emerging issues. Sessions included developments in characterizing contaminant spread through groundwater basins, climate change and drought planning, and Lower Santa Cruz River Basin Studies. The policy panel featured a talk by WRRC Graduate Research Assistant, Garland Speight. In his talk, “The Value and Prioritization of Water Used to Sustain Animals and Plants on, in, and adjacent to Streams in Arizona,” Speight examined the economic values of water used to support these animals and plants, including real estate prices, habitability, and recreation. These values are used to identify policy changes to encourage use of this water commensurate with its values, including changing the statutory cut to the aquifer for effluent-based managed recharge projects and adding requirements to use effluent in managed recharge projects prior to use in turf-related facilities.
Tucson AmeriCorps Water Educator Team

Arizona Project WET is pleased to announce the addition of four AmeriCorps Water Educators to our Tucson Education team for the 2022-2023 school year. Elias, Juliana, Emanual, and Mia have all spent the past two weeks familiarizing themselves with Project WET materials, lessons, and procedures as well as learning about water in our Sonoran Desert and the Tucson Urban Water Cycle. The team will soon be hosting 4th graders at Sweetwater Wetlands teaching water cycle, watersheds, and water conservation. In addition, they will be visiting classrooms to teach students about groundwater and its importance to our urban water cycle. We look forward to another great year of our talented Water Educators making a difference in their community! There are still open Water Educator positions in Tucson as well as Maricopa, Pinal, and Coconino counties. If you or someone who know is interested in becoming an AmeriCorps Water Educator, visit https://linktr.ee/azprojectwet to learn more and apply.
ABWC Conference Offers Food for Thought

On Friday, September 16, the Agribusiness and Water Council of Arizona (ABWC) held its annual meeting. A program of engaged and knowledgeable speakers conveyed the urgency of cooperative planning and action to address ongoing drought in Arizona and the Colorado River Basin. The program included individuals representing the agricultural sector, non-agricultural water users, hydropower generation, and other thought leaders. Food security was a major theme, brought home by Family Farm Alliance Executive Director Dan Keppen and University of Arizona Professor and Extension Specialist Jeff Silvertooth. A keynote presentation by Ted Cooke, general manager of the Central Arizona Project, laid out the current situation and likely future for Arizona’s Colorado River water. According to Cooke, cuts to the CAP allocation could be near total within just a few years if steps are not taken collectively by Colorado River water users and managers throughout the basin. Noting that “Basin States have not yet produced a viable plan nor has the United States proposed a plan,” he outlined next steps that include a major change in mindset: “Each water user needs to be willing to take the necessary steps to save the system as if it was their sole responsibility.”

Image: ABWC
Arizona Water Leaders Give Assessment of Colorado River Conditions
 
On September 14, the Arizona Capitol Times “Morning Scoop on Water Issues in Arizona” hosted a webinar panel of representatives from the Arizona Department of Water Resources (ADWR), the Salt River Project (SRP), the Central Arizona Project (CAP), the Central Arizona Water Conservation District (CAWCD), and EPCOR USA. They discussed the current state of Arizona’s water supply and steps taken in anticipation of the 2023 Tier 2a Colorado River Shortage. CAP General Manager Ted Cooke, ADWR Director Tom Buschatzke, and CAWCD Chairman Terry Goddard emphasized that voluntary conservation efforts should instead be substituted with “mandatory outcomes” to conserve the state’s water resources and prevent a water “crisis period.” With current water trends, they warned that as early as 2024, the water levels in Lakes Mead and Powell would reach a tipping point, restricting water flow and reducing hydropower production across the state. They also discussed mitigation efforts, such as the existing Drought Contingency and 500+ Plans, as well as additional efforts funded by Arizona’s recent $1 billion investment in water. Leslie Meyers, chief water executive of SRP, and Joe Jeisen, president of EPCOR, discussed inflows from the recent monsoon season, aquifers conditions, and the impact of shortages on private and nonprofit companies. The panel emphasized that the situation in the Colorado River system is dire and the need for collaboration for long-term water conservation is urgent.

Image: ADWR
 
WATER JOBS
ANNOUNCEMENTS
OTHER NOTICES
Public Notice of EPA Approval of State Drinking Water Program Primacy Revision
The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) invites any interested parties to request a public hearing on the approval of revision to Arizona's approved State primacy program, which oversees public water systems in Arizona. Requests for public hearing are due Oct. 20, 2022. More Info
 
Notice of Public Comment Period for Arizona Water Protection Fund Fiscal Year 2023 Grant Applications More Info
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