IN THIS ISSUE: Water Awareness Festival, Staff Updates, Herman Bouwer Award, APW, Cocoa Production | | |
|
WRRC Participates in 2024
Water Awareness Month Festival
| |
|
On April 6, the WRRC hosted a booth at the 2024 Water Awareness Month Festival in Phoenix, organized by the Arizona Department of Water Resources (ADWR). WRRC Associate Director Jamie McEvoy and WRRC Graduate Outreach Assistant Taylor Simmons (pictured above) attended the event and enjoyed interacting with other attendees at the Wesley Bolin Plaza on a sunny Saturday afternoon. Alongside more than 30 water education booths, the WRRC offered giveaways and showcased various outreach initiatives, such as the Weekly Wave newsletter, Arroyo publication, county-specific Arizona Water Factsheets, and Arizona Water Map Poster. An interactive flipchart captivated some participants. Visitors to the WRRC booth were invited to share their interests in water-related topics that ranged from rainwater harvesting and groundwater recharge to water policy, providing valuable feedback for future outreach initiatives. The 2nd annual water awareness event afforded participation from numerous organizations dedicated to providing water education to the public at the city, state, and federal levels. In addition to the WRRC, there was representation from Arizona Project WET, the UArizona Cooperative Extension Master Gardener program, Arizona Department of Environmental Quality, Arizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management, and Arizona State Parks, as well as municipal water providers of Phoenix, Avondale, Glendale, and more. It was terrific to see several former WRRC graduate students at the event. Thank you, ADWR (and partners), for hosting such a well-organized event that helped raise awareness about the importance of protecting water, our state’s most precious resource!
News Story
More Info
| |
|
Law of the Colorado River Annual Conference: Planning for Post-2026 Operations in a Drought-Stressed Basin
Dates: May 6–7, 2024
Location: Embassy Suites by Hilton Denver Downtown
1420 Stout St, Denver, CO 80202
Hear all points of view from the Upper and Lower Basins on critical issues along the Colorado River as the guidelines near expiration. Participants can Earn up to 12 Hours of MCLE Credit, Including One Hour of Ethics, or up to 12 Hours of Engineering Credit.
Register Here
More Info
| |
|
Upcoming WRRC and Co-sponsored Events
Upcoming External Events
| |
|
Former WRRC Grad Student Returns as Project Manager
The WRRC is pleased to announce that former Graduate Research Assistant Garland Speight is officially joining the WRRC staff as a project manager. Speight earned a master’s degree in Water, Society, and Policy from the University of Arizona’s School of Natural Resources and the Environment. After earning his undergraduate degree in mechanical engineering from UArizona, Speight worked as a nuclear engineer on spent nuclear fuel disposal and steam plant equipment design. More recently, he worked on water processing technologies for NASA that are now in service on the International Space Station. While pursuing his master’s, Speight helped plan the WRRC's annual conference and assisted with Water RAPIDS projects in the towns of Superior and Patagonia. In this new position, he will continue to collaborate with local, state, nonprofit, federal, and industrial partners to help facilitate water resources planning. He will work on leveraging partnerships to bring the latest science and stakeholder engagement techniques to help develop solutions that meet the needs of stakeholders and the environment. Speight is also an avid volunteer, assisting with a Tucson-based mutual aid group and providing technical consulting and facilitation for the Aravaipa Watershed Conservation Alliance. He is a native of Arizona who enjoys spending time with his dog, hiking, camping, reading, and baking. Welcome back to the WRRC team and congratulations, Garland!
| |
|
Mark Cross, Past WRRC EAC Chair, Receives Herman Bouwer Award
On Friday, April 5, Mark Cross, a well-known and highly regarded hydrogeologist and long-time member of the Arizona water community, received the Herman Bouwer Award at the 18th Biennial Symposium on Managed Aquifer Recharge (BSMAR) conference. The BSMAR conference is held every two years by the Arizona Hydrological Society (AHS) to engage experts on managed aquifer recharge (MAR) research and advancement. The award honors Dr. Herman Bouwer, the former Director of the USDA Water Conservation Laboratory in Phoenix, who was a leading researcher and author on over 300 publications relating to water resources research. Katharine Jacobs, Director of the Center for Climate Adaptation Science and Solutions at the University of Arizona, presented the award to Cross, an Arizona native who continues working with Montgomery and Associates after serving as its president for 13 years. Cross was honored for his work in recharge investigation, groundwater flow modeling, and other MAR research. His involvement with the WRRC includes chairing the WRRC External Advisory Committee (EAC), providing guidance, supporting WRRC programs, and participating in strategic planning efforts.
Image: Shawn Calendine / AHS. Mark Cross with three of the four past Herman Bouwer Award recipients (Mario Llurio, Robert Rice, and David Pyne).
2024 BSMAR Conference Award Winners
Herman Bouwer Award
| |
|
Climate Change Impacting West African Cocoa Production
Cocoa production is struggling as environmental conditions in northwestern Africa are influenced by climate change. As reported by the Guardian and a Circle of Blue analysis, heatwaves, drought, and crop disease along with changing El Niño conditions have reduced the cocoa supply by 0.5 million tonnes from the normal yearly yield. This reduced yield has put cocoa at an all-time high price, more than $10,000 per tonne. Chocolate companies, like Nestlé and Lindt & Sprüngli, say potential rise in the price of finished consumer chocolate products is likely to come. However, this change in the chocolate market will not provide any increased income to cacao farmers. Indirect selling through third-party industries limits cash flow to the farmers directly. Without more money for the farmers, there is less investment in fertilizers or other agricultural improvements in the region. Ghana and Ivory Coast, some of the world’s leading cacao producers, continue to face this battle as production has been declining for the past three years. Research is underway to find more drought-resistant varieties of coffee, tea, bananas, and other crops grown in the region.
| |
WATER JOBS & OTHER OPPORTUNITIES | |
|
Please visit WRRC's website for a complete listing of water jobs and opportunities.
| |
NOTICES, PUBLICATIONS & MEDIA | |
|
From the WRRC
Call for Submissions: Special Issue in Agricultural Water Management Journal
The editors of Water Scarcity Solutions for Irrigated Agriculture in the Warming Western U.S. invite submissions to this special issue of the journal Agricultural Water Management. This collection calls for research-informed solutions that can relieve pressure on the West’s water resources while maintaining the viability of agriculture in the region while fostering a transition to sustainable practices. Contact Noah Silber-Coats (noahsc@nmsu.edu) with any questions. The Manuscript Submission Deadline is August 15, 2024, but articles are published as they are ready, so the issue deadline does not affect the publication date of individual contributions. More Info
Invitation to Participate in Cooperative Extension Listening Sessions
The University of Arizona Cooperative Extension needs your help! Extension is seeking public input to help guide future work throughout the state. Eight listening sessions will be held across the state, with food provided. Dates and locations are listed on the Extension website, with several coming up in April. Six sessions will be open to the public and two are reserved for UArizona campus collaborators. These are regional events, and we hope that you will attend to share your thoughts and hear the perspectives of others. More Info
Other Sources
ADWR Informal Public Meeting: Proposed Rulemaking for Alternative Path to Designation of 100-year Assured Water Supply
The Arizona Department of Water Resources (ADWR) will hold a series of informal public meetings to present information and accept comments on a proposed rulemaking for an Alternative Path to Designation of a 100-year Assured Water Supply. The first meeting will be held on April 22, both in person and virtually. More Info
Watereuse Arizona 2024 Scholarship
WateReuse Arizona will award two scholarships of $3,000 each to Arizona university and college students. The purpose of this award is to encourage full-time students with a focus on wastewater reclamation, water reuse, and/or desalination. The scholarships will be awarded at the 2024 Arizona Water Reuse Symposium in Flagstaff, Arizona. Scholarship applications are due June 5, 2024. More Info
Student Travel Awards for UCOWR/NIWR/AWRA Conference
The National Institutes of Water Resources (NIWR) is again sponsoring travel awards for students (undergraduate or graduate) to attend the joint Universities Council on Water Resources (UCOWR)/NIWR/AWRA conference from September 30–October 2, 2024, in St. Louis, Missouri. To qualify for the travel award, students must submit an abstract (either poster or presentation) for the conference. Two awardees per NIWR region will be chosen at random, with awards ranging from $1,200 to $2,500. For more information and to enter the drawing, visit the submission form. The deadline to submit the form is Friday, May 3, at 4:00 pm. Please contact Mike Dietz (michael.dietz@uconn.edu) with any questions.
| |
Do you have a story idea, water job announcement, or event to share?
| | | | |
