Image: Rosa Bevington, Aerial Field, Yuma, WRRC Photo Contest 2017

President Robbins' Announcement

Upcoming WRRC Events: Save these Dates!

Jan 26, 2023: WRRC Brown Bag Webinar: Silent River screening and panel featuring Mathew Moseley and Matt Rice

Feb 1, 2023 (Feb 2 at 9:00 am Canberra, Australia time): WRRC Special Event featuring Australian water expert Bradley Moggridge (co-sponsored by the Indigenous Resilience Center)

Feb 15, 2023: WRRC Brown Bag Webinar: Sonoran Institute’s Santa Cruz River team presentation on the findings of the latest Living River reports

Jul 11-12, 2023: WRRC 2023 Annual Conference

The stunning decline in Lake Powell water levels has precipitated renewed debate on the lake’s future. Glen Canyon Dam, which created Lake Powell, is operated by the US Bureau of Reclamation for water storage and power generation. A key component of the Colorado River system, it allows the Upper Basin to meet its Colorado River Compact obligation to the Lower Basin. After a series of low runoff years, however, people are asking if it is wise, or even possible, to maintain the lake and dam as designed. Beyond issues of Colorado River system operations and power generation, the debate involves future recreational use and environmental considerations. The US National Park Service continues to invest millions to preserve lake access and services for boating. Yet many access ramps and services have been closed, and boater visitation is dropping as the lake shrinks. On the other hand, land-based recreational use has increased as falling lake levels expose natural attractions, such as beaches and rock formations, now accessible to hikers, including an impressive sandstone grotto and waterfall named ‘Cathedral in the Desert.’ Ideas ranging from adjusting Upper Basin operations so as to maintain the lake to decommissioning the dam have been proposed. Reclamation has not ruled out any possibility, although decommissioning is not among the wide range of options they are evaluating as they consider what to do if water levels in Lake Powell and Lake Mead fall lower than can be managed in the existing system. For Arizona Daily Star subscribers, the various perspective of recreationists, environmentalists, and the managing federal agencies are described in two articles by Tony Davis. Updates on Lake Powell conditions are available from the National Park Service.

Photo by Joshua Sukoff on Unsplash

Five new water-related articles and reports published online in recent weeks may be of interest to Weekly Wave readers. The Water Education Foundation released an article on December 9, titled “As Colorado River Flows Drop and Tensions Rise, Water Interests Struggle to Find Solutions That All Can Accept,” detailing the ongoing efforts to manage water shortages in the Colorado River Basin. The Water & Tribes Initiative, with support from the Colorado River Sustainability Campaign, published a report in November on “Enhancing Tribal Water Management Capacity in the Colorado River Basin: A Baseline Assessment.” Also in November, the Sonoran Institute released their latest Living River report, “A Living River: Charting Santa Cruz River Conditions Nogales Wash to Amado.” It follows an earlier report on Santa Cruz River conditions in Tucson and Marana. Both reports are available in English and Spanish. The US Water Alliance released a new report in October, “The Path to Universally Affordable Water Access: Guiding Principles for the Water Sector.” It is “the culmination of more than 18 months of convenings across eight US cities to understand the policy, practice, and impact of shutting off individual access to water due to the inability to pay water bills.” Finally, the American Water Works Association just released their Water 2050 Report, summarizing the first Water 2050 Sustainability Think Tank, held in Las Vegas in September 2022, and recommending actions based on the contributions of Think Tank attendees.

Landscape professionals play a critical role in water resource management, and Smartscape courses allow them to specialize in water-use efficiency planning and set themselves apart in a competitive field. Now, an in-depth, twelve-hour advanced Smartscape Course, titled Plant Materials is being offered in Spanish. Registration is currently open for this course, which will educate landscape professionals on the variety of water-efficient plants compatible with the Sonoran Desert and will provide hands-on activities as well. Featured in Pima and Maricopa Counties, Smartscape courses are led by experts in topics such as drip irrigation design and installation, maintaining desert-adapted plants, landscape design and renovation, and more. Graduates of the program will distinguish themselves in the field by receiving a certificate of completion from UArizona, continuing education credits from the International Society of Arboriculture and Association of Professional Landscape Designers, and professional recognition on the Smartscape website. For more information on the Advanced Smartscape course or other Smartscape courses, contact the Smartscape Program Coordinator, Kirti Mathura, at (602) 827- 82076 or via email: kmathura@arizona.edu.

Please visit WRRC's website for a complete listing of water jobs & opportunities.

As Colorado River Flows Drop and Tensions Rise, Water Interests Struggle to Find Solutions That All Can Accept.

The Path to Universally Affordable Water Access: Guiding Principles for the Water Sector. 

Water Management Assistance Program (WMAP) PowerBI Dashboard is now live and available on the WMAP webpage.

Sonoran Institute Arizona Reports: A Living River

The Sonoran Institute publishes reports on Arizona river ecosystems. Recent reports feature Tucson and Nogales. Many of the reports are available in both English and Spanish. More Info

Water and Tribes Initiative Report Full PDF

Enhancing Tribal Water Management Capacity in the Colorado River Basin: A Baseline Assessment More Info

Dr. Valerisa Joe-Gaddy joins the Agents of Change in Environmental Justice podcast to discuss the importance of including Indigenous people in water management decisions and says “They’re still fighting for water rights.” Listen Here

Congratulations to Dr. Monica Ramirez-Andreotta

Dr. Monica Ramirez-Andreotta, assistant professor of Soil, Water and Environmental Science for the UArizona Department of Environmental Science, has been awarded funding for two excellent projects: Building a Culture of Health in the Green: Participatory Learning and Action to Address Air and Soil Quality in Rural Underserved Communities

and Wildfires and Flash Floods: Using Exposure Science to Identify Rural Arizona Mining Communities at Risk from the Release and Remobilization of Contaminants.

In Spring 2023, the UArizona College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS) will be holding weekly Career Talks — an opportunity for employers to connect with CALS students to share an industry overview, discuss internship and/or job opportunities, and meet 1:1 with interested students. Career Talks are on Wednesdays from 12:30 - 1:30 pm AZ time. Interested employers can sign up here.

Public Comment: Drinking Water Regulations – Prohibition on Lead Use Rulemaking

ADEQ welcomes comments on updates to the safe drinking water rules in A.A.C. Title 18 Chapter 4 to conform to EPA’s final regulation entitled “Use of Lead Free Pipes, Fittings, Fixtures, Solder, and Flux for Drinking Water” (Lead Free Rule). 85 FR 54235 (Sept. 1, 2020). More Info

WRRC Director Sharon B. Megdal has been appointed to serve on this new Commission that will provide recommendations on concrete steps the University can take to make our state a global leader in creating and applying transformational technologies and climate-resilient sustainable agricultural and food production practices, in partnership with the desert agriculture industry. More Info

Tucson One Water 2100 Public Survey

Help Tucson Water develop the One Water 2100 Master Plan. The plan will manage Tucson’s water resources for the next eight decades. Your feedback will help develop long-range strategies for water use and infrastructure. Take the Survey

The Bradshaw and Chino Valley Ranger Districts of the Prescott National Forest are seeking comments on the Upper Verde Wild and Scenic River Suitability Study Draft Environmental Assessment (DEA). The purpose is to determine whether the eligible portions of the Upper Verde River continue to be suitable for and should be recommended to Congress for inclusion in the National Wild and Scenic River System (NWSRS). Comments will inform officials of the best alternatives available for preserving the river’s free-flowing condition and Outstanding Remarkable Values (ORVs), in relation to a proposal by the Bureau of Reclamation to construct two fish barriers in NWSRS-eligible sections of the Upper Verde River. More Info