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Aug 28, 2020 / Volume 8, Issue 25
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IN THIS ISSUE: Tracking COVID-19, New Faculty, The 7 P’s of APW, Groundwater Conference, Webinar Archive
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Welcome to the Fall Semester! |
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The WRRC wants to extend a warm welcome to all those returning to school for the Fall semester. This summer has been long, hot, and dry. The COVID-19 pandemic has challenged us all to re-think how we learn, work, and interact with our friends, family, and colleagues. Across campus, classes began this week in a mix of in-person and remote instruction, demonstrating the resilience and careful planning that have been the focus these past months. As the semester begins, the University must, as President Robbins noted recently, remain “flexible and adaptive to the public health conditions of both our campus and the community of which we are part.” Here at the WRRC, while our office will remain closed, we continue to work from home to deliver our many and varied programs, conduct research, and engage with communities. Be sure to check out our website to stay up to date on everything WRRC. We wish everyone a safe and fulfilling semester!
Photo: Old Main at the University of Arizona, Courtesy of the University of Arizona
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Brown Bag Webinar - Toward a Sense of the Basin: Designing a Collaborative Process to Develop the Next Set of Guidelines for the Colorado River System
Date: Tuesday, September 1, 2020
Time: 12:00 - 1:15 p.m.
Speaker: Daryl Vigil, Co-facilitator, Water and Tribes Initiative
- to enhance tribal capacity to participate in basin-wide policy decisions and
- to advance sustainable water management in the basin through collaborative decision-making.
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Brown Bag Webinar - Arizona Water Blueprint: A Roadmap to Good Stewardship
Date: Thursday, September 17, 2020
Time: 12:00 - 1:15 p.m.
Speakers: Sarah Porter, Director, Kyl Center for Water Policy; Susan Craig, Water Policy Analyst, Kyl Center for Water Policy
Speakers from the Kyl Center for Water Policy will be presenting the Arizona Water Blueprint: A Roadmap to Good Stewardship. This signature project is an innovative interactive map of the state’s water resources and infrastructure. Rich with data, the Blueprint is designed to foster holistic water resource thinking and informed water policy discussions to influence sound water stewardship in the state. The Blueprint offers opportunities for both free exploration and guided tours, and in the future it will feature detailed information about proposed augmentation projects and the water resilience of communities throughout the state.
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Tribal Water Law Conference: Expanding Access in a Shrinking Environment
Date: September 14-15, 2020
This year, the Tribal Law Institute's 9th Annual Conference will be online. Distinguished speakers will present an update on current tribal water law issues. Topics include effects of climate change on water rights, tribal water rights settlements, tribal water marketing basics, and water’s role in the disproportionate impact of the pandemic on tribal communities. In addition, Heather Whiteman Runs Him, Director of the Tribal Justice Clinic in UArizona’s James E. Rogers College of Law, and Stanley Pollack, Assistant Attorney General - Water Rights Unit for the Navajo Nation, will talk on the ethical consideration in representing tribal clients.
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Wastewater Used to Track COVID-19 at UA
The University of Arizona Water, Energy, Sustainability Technology (WEST) Center has been a leader in developing accurate and reliable tests to monitor for the novel coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, in wastewater. WEST researchers are now bringing their expertise home to implement wastewater-based epidemiology tests at 10 UArizona locations, with an emphasis on dorms. Because infected individuals shed the virus before becoming symptomatic, testing wastewater provides for early detection, allowing the University to issue timely alerts when indicated. Already, by detecting viral RNA in dormitory wastewater, they were able to test dorm residents, find 2 positive asymptomatic cases, and quarantine them, thus limiting any further spread. Wastewater testing will take place several times per week and will continue throughout the year. Sometimes called “sewershed surveillance,” analysis of wastewater has a long history of being used to identify the presence of industrial waste, drugs, viruses, pharmaceuticals, and the potential emergence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Because wastewater testing for COVID-19 can indicate both the virus’ presence and its concentration, it provides critical information to help UArizona officials target its Test, Trace and Treat Team efforts.
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Former WRRC Graduate Assistant Joins UArizona Faculty
This summer, the University of Arizona appointed former WRRC Graduate Assistant, Aaron Lien, to the faculty of the School of Natural Resources and the Environment. The new assistant professor is taking on his responsibilities with gusto. For those who ‘knew him when,’ this achievement is no surprise. Here he reflects for the Weekly Wave on the path that brought him here.
I’ll be honest. When I first moved to Tucson in 2006 to begin work on my master’s degree, I never thought I would stay. Having grown up in the damp, mossy woods of western Washington, the desert, while beautiful in its starkness, was just too dry, too dusty, and the trees too small. But southern Arizona – and the University of Arizona – has a way of drawing you in. For an attentive observer, what once seemed desolate actually teams with biodiversity. For a social scientist, the region’s long history of conflict and collaboration over water and rangeland management offers fertile ground for scholarship.
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The 7 P’s of APW
Here at APW, we might call 2020 the year our world water web was stretched from shore to shore. We have extended our programming to support the virtual needs of our learning community while expanding our marketing outreach. When we catch a glimpse of something relevant while surfing the web, we weave our creative minds around how we can relate the nugget of content to our own programming and outreach initiatives.
Our city sponsors are proud that because of our passion for water conservation, we promote these water conservation events. Whether it’s a simple conversation with our personal social network or a full-fledged promotional campaign on our social media network, we are becoming masters of persuasion! Take, for instance, this video produced by Lorie Cavalli de Ascarza, one of our passionate coordinators from Coconino County, essentially proving that here at APW, we practice what we preach. Then we have our ace, Pearl, our social media warrior, keeping it fresh and cool! So, good people, take the Water Pledge www.mywaterpledge.com before time runs out and we can ensure our water doesn’t!
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International Groundwater Conference to Address Resilience to Climate Change
Save the date: October 29-30, 2020, for a free and open access conference on groundwater, sponsored by UNESCO International Hydrology Program (IHP), the International Water Resources Association (IWRA) and the International Association of Hydrogeologists (IAH). This online conference, Addressing Groundwater Resilience under Climate Change, aims to promote up-to-date research and knowledge generation and sharing, as well as encourage more efforts to raise awareness of the links between groundwater and climate change. The conference is organized around 5 themes:
- Groundwater Natural Resources Assessment under Climate Change,
- Climate Change Effects on Groundwater Resilience – Pollution and Remediation,
- Contribution of Technology to Groundwater Resilience,
- Groundwater Governance, Management and Policy, and
- Groundwater Education and Capacity Building.
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Looking for Something “Cool” to Do?
The WRRC has a library of previous Brown Bag seminars and webinars on its website for your viewing pleasure. This valuable and comprehensive resource is available to ALL (not only those associated with the University of Arizona) – how wonderful is that? This past Spring was particularly eventful, with the WRRC hosting a variety of webinars and other special events (such as the Chocolate Fest). You can find video recordings of most of these events using the link below or by navigating to the “Events” tab on the WRRC home page. For example, if you missed Director Sharon B. Megdal’s Brown Bag Webinar: Developing Pathways to Solutions to Wicked Water Problems this past May, it focused on the similar but distinct wicked water issues faced in our region and the Middle East and the approaches taken to solve them. Additionally, if you missed our Annual Conference in June, recordings and presentations of past conferences are also available on the website. We encourage you to check them out!
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