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January 28, 2022 / Volume 10, Issue 4
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IN THIS ISSUE: Scholar's Award, NVIS, Elia Tapia, ADEQ, WOTUS
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Rodney Blaine Lewis Scholars Award
Accepting Applications
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Rodney “Rod” Blaine Lewis was a pioneer whose accomplishments in resolving the water rights claims of Native Nations laid the foundation for advancing the position of Indigenous communities in today’s natural resource dialogues. In honor of his work, the Rodney Blaine Lewis Scholars Award was created to support graduate students at the University of Arizona who are enrolled members of an Arizona Indian Tribe, and who are enrolled in a program of study in water law, policy, or a closely related field. Students can find the Rodney Blaine Lewis Scholars Award at the UArizona Scholarship Universe website. Applications for the inaugural year of this award are being accepted until April 3, 2022. For more information on Rod Lewis, please visit WRRC’s conference dedication page.
Image: Courtesy of the Lewis Family
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Brown Bag Webinar: Recent Research on Policies for Managed Aquifer Recharge in Mexico
Date: February 2, 2022
Time: 12:00-1:15 pm Arizona Time
Speaker:
Mary-Belle Cruz Ayala, PhD, WRRC Postdoc, US-Mexico Transboundary Aquifer Assessment Program
In Mexico, groundwater availability has been decreasing, especially in arid and semi-arid regions. One way to address this decline is using Managed Aquifer Recharge (MAR) to boost aquifer recharge with stormwater or treated wastewater. Considering the impact that climate change can have on natural recharge, the implementation of MAR efforts in the Northwest region of Mexico would help maintain environmental services, halt seawater intrusion, and act as a source for potable service. However, according to state and municipal water managers, implementing MAR effectively would require improvements in the Mexican legal framework, aquifer recharge policies, and financial programs.
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Upcoming Events
Mar 15: Brown Bag Webinar: Rio Reimagined: Reconnecting the Salt River With the Valley's Metropolitan Communities
April 7: Brown Bag Webinar: Public Interest, Indigenous Rights, and the Los Angeles Aqueduct; Sophia Borgias, Assistant Professor, Interdisciplinary Programs, Boise State University
Apr 19: Brown Bag Webinar: Carlos de la Parra, Research Professor of Urban and Environmental Studies, El Colegio de la Frontera Norte
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NVIS Seminar Features Ranalda Tsosie
On January 24, the UArizona Indige-FEWSS program co-sponsored a webinar featuring Dr. Ranalda L. Tsosie (Diné), a post-doctoral scholar at Montana State University. The presentation, "Utilizing Diné Science and Innovation to Tackle Longstanding Water Challenges in Diné Communities," was the first seminar of the Spring 2022 series, Native Voices in STEM (NVIS). After a brief introduction, Tsosie began the talk by defining the relationship between Diné and Western perspectives of science and how “connectedness to the land and the sense of place” differentiates the two. In fact, the traditional Navajo songs and stories that she heard as a child continue to serve as lifelong conceptual frameworks through which she learns about and understands the health of the environment and her community. As a post-doctoral researcher, Tsosie’s work—which often includes the participation of community members from the Tolikan Chapter of the Navajo Nation—studies the impacts of uranium mining on groundwater quality and community health while adhering to the guiding principles of the Four Life Lessons: Nitsáhákees (Thinking), Nahat’á (Planning), Iiná (Implementing), and Siih Hasin (Reflection). Tsosie explained that these principles represent “not a replacement, but an alternative approach in understanding the scientific method.” She concluded her presentation by stressing the importance of community involvement at all stages of research, and reminded the audience that “Indigenous knowledge has a valid place in scientific research.” A recording of the seminar will be posted on the NVIS website below.
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New Publication Assesses Sustainable Groundwater Withdrawal
A new publication in a Special Issue of the journal Water evaluates annual groundwater withdrawal from the Santa Cruz River aquifer in Mexico. The article, "Assessing Groundwater Withdrawal Sustainability in the Mexican Portion of the Transboundary Santa Cruz River Aquifer," emphasizes the need for “water resources management that considers the large inter-annual climate variability in the region.” Co-authors Elia M.Tapia-Villaseñor, research professor at the Universidad de Sonora, Eylon Shamir, hydrologic engineer at San Diego’s Hydrologic Research Center, Sharon B. Megdal, WRRC director, and Mary-Belle Cruz Ayala, WRRC post-doctoral researcher, developed a water balance model to determine the withdrawal rate that maintains sustainable conditions. Using historical data, the study found that the maximum sustainable annual groundwater withdrawal has decreased from 36.4 MCM/year in 1993 to less than 8 MCM/year in 2020. The article is one of 13 publications in the Special Issue Advances in Transboundary Aquifer Assessment that WRRC Director Megdal and Anne-Marie Matherne of US Geological Survey are guest editors of. All the articles are freely available online.
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ADEQ Reporting Engages the Public
The Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) makes use of a robust public engagement process in rulemaking and reporting. This week the agency is inviting interested community members to comment on the five-year review of ADEQ’s administration rules, as published in the Arizona Administrative Code. Those interested can participate in an online feedback survey. Responses are due no later than February 2, 2022. These reports contain a concise analysis of ADEQ’s administrative rules over the past five years. On January 6, the public comment period for Arizona’s 2022 Clean Water Act Assessment, covering the period July 1, 2012 to June 30, 2021, ended. Following revisions, expect to see “for the first time in Arizona history” what ADEQ calls “a clear picture of every protected surfacewater in the State — 883 rivers, streams & lakes critical for drinking, recreation & fish consumption.” The draft assessment is still available for viewing online. Established in 1987, ADEQ is the state agency that protects and enhances public health and the environment.
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Supreme Court to Hear WOTUS Case
On Monday the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) granted an appeal in Sackett v. EPA, a 2012 case involving federal jurisdiction to regulate wetlands on private land under the Clean Water Act (CWA). In the 2012 decision, SCOTUS sided with the Idaho landowners, ruling that the Sacketts have the right to challenge a CWA order from the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), but the court affirmed the lower court’s ruling that the wetland in question was under the jurisdiction of the CWA.
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Please visit WRRC's website for a complete listing of water jobs & opportunities.
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NGWA offers free student memberships to those studying in groundwater-related programs (in both undergraduate and graduate programs), whether in a university, community college, or a drilling school.
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Do you have a story idea, water job announcement, or event to share?
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