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August 16, 2024 / Volume 12, Issue 7

The Water Resources Research Center - a research unit of the College of Agriculture, Life and Environmental Sciences and an Extension unit in UA Cooperative Extension within the Division of Agriculture, Life & Veterinary Sciences & Cooperative Extension.

Land Acknowledgement.

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2024 marks the 60th anniversary of the Water Resources Research Center at the University of Arizona. Find out more.

IN THIS ISSUE: WRRC Updates, Extension Conference Recap, PEER2PEER Fellowships, Colorado River, AIR Resilience Award
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What’s Next? Upcoming WRRC Events

and Engagement

As we approach the beginning of the Fall 2024 semester, the WRRC is preparing for another exciting season of water webinars and participation in various events. On August 21, the WRRC will host an in-person event in Nogales, AZ, titled “Santa Cruz County Special Session Logistics.” Zoom attendance will also be available. This special water session will feature multiple presentations that include an overview of the Santa Cruz County Water Factsheet, updates on the Transboundary Aquifer Assessment Program (TAAP), an overview of the Governor’s Water Policy Council, a presentation on transboundary water issues in the Ambos Nogales region, and updates related to the upcoming Supply & Demand Report for the Santa Cruz AMA. World Water Week 2024 is being held on August 25–29 in Stockholm, Sweden. This year’s theme is Bridging Borders: Water for a Peaceful and Sustainable Future. WRRC Director Sharon B. Megdal will be attending this leading global water conference and participating in many ways. Tune in for Megdal’s hybrid session on August 27, titled “Institutions for Water, Peace and Cooperation: Basins Doing the Work.” Registration is free for an Online Full Access Pass, so get your ticket today! On September 24, the WRRC will host a Water Webinar on “Using Green Stormwater Infrastructure Projects to Develop Partnerships, Address Stakeholder Needs, and Build to Future Work” that will be based on the Water RAPIDS team’s work with the Town of Superior and other stakeholders to develop the Coleman Alley Green Stormwater Infrastructure Project, build partnerships, and address water issues on the Queen Creek. We are also pleased to announce that the WRRC 2025 Annual Conference will be held May 20–21, 2025, so please save the date! Our 2025 conference theme is Shared Borders, Shared Waters: Working Together in Times of Scarcity. Stay tuned for more updates via the Weekly Wave and/or visit the Events page on our website often to stay informed of all our upcoming events, publications, and other relevant water news. If you have suggestions for future Weekly Wave stories and/or any topics to propose for an upcoming Water Webinar, please send us an email with those details to wrrc@arizona.edu.

 

Image: Kim Holmes (Oak Creek, Sedona, AZ) – WRRC 2023 Photo Contest
 

2025 ANNUAL CONFERENCE
EVENTS

Santa Cruz County Special Session Logistics – Water Study Session Organized by the WRRC


Date: Wednesday, Aug 21, 2024

Time: 10:00 am–12:00 pm Arizona Time

Location: 2150 N. Congress Dr., Nogales, AZ 85621

and Zoom


Speakers:

Sharon B. Megdal, Director, WRRC

Joaquin Marruffo, Environmental Justice Coordinator, ADEQ

Claudia Gil Anaya, Environmental Science Specialist, ADEQ

Kennedy Shepard, Statewide Planning Supervisor, ADWR


The following presentations will be covered during this WRRC-organized water study session, after which there will be time for a Q&A session.

  • Arizona County Water Factsheet Initiative – Overview of the Santa Cruz County Water Factsheet
  • Updates on the Transboundary Aquifer Assessment Program (TAAP)
  • Overview of Governor’s Water Policy Council
  • Transboundary Water Issues in the Ambos Nogales Region
  • Updates related to the upcoming Supply & Demand Report for the Santa Cruz AMA


More Info

Zoom Link

Upcoming WRRC Events


Other Events

NEWS

WRRC Presents Posters at AZ Cooperative Extension Conference


The Water Resources Research Center (WRRC) was well represented at the 2024 annual Arizona Cooperative Extension Conference with two presentations at the poster session on July 31, in Tucson, AZ. WRRC Project Manager Garland Speight presented a poster titled “Queen Creek Watershed: Working with Diverse Partners to Support Stream Restoration,” which outlined WRRC’s collaborative work as a bridging organization to coordinate available research and plan activities in support of the watershed restoration efforts of the Town of Superior and Queen Creek Working Group. Additionally, WRRC Associate Director Jamie McEvoy presented a poster titled “Ripple Effects: The Water Resources Research Center’s Information Transfer Program.” This poster provided an overview of six key outreach and education activities, including the Weekly Wave, the WRRC Annual Conference, the Arroyo, the WRRC Water Webinar Series, the Arizona Water Factsheets, and the WRRC website. Organizers of the poster session made a concerted effort to attract faculty and administrators from several University of Arizona campus-based departments to foster conversations between Extension personnel and campus-based faculty and staff to facilitate a greater understanding of Extension programs. 

 

2024 Cooperative Extension Conference Poster Session

­­Applications Open for 2024 Accelnet PEER2PEER Fellowships

 

The international Accelnet PEER2PEER program is seeking graduate students, postdocs, and researchers to complete fellowships focused on transboundary water resource management from fall 2024 through spring 2025, and the WRRC will be one of this year’s host sites! The selected WRRC fellow will identify different efforts at building international transboundary water security networks. This will involve researching various organizations and programs, characterizing their mission, purpose, and/or strategy, and questioning what constitutes a network. The fellow will study the focus of the network(s), how they operate, their age, and their level of formality, and will produce a report with supporting documentation. The WRRC fellowship position is only open to non-US-based applicants; however, the fellowships being offered in Kyrgyzstan, Sierra Leone, and Uzbekistan (the other three host sites for 2024), will accept US-based applicants. The deadline to apply for a fellowship is August 30, 2024.

 

Apply Here

More Info

­­Colorado River Water Could Soon Be Leased

 

The Colorado River Indian Tribes (CRIT) have rights to divert nearly 720,000 acre-feet of Colorado River water in Arizona and California combined. Historically, that water has remained on CRIT lands, but an act of Congress signed in January 2023 authorized the leasing of CRIT water in Arizona for the first time. Many other Tribes in Arizona have achieved their water rights through settlements that typically include leasing provisions, but CRIT’s water rights were established as part of a 1964 US Supreme Court decree, which did not confer leasing rights. After signing additional agreements with the Bureau of Reclamation and the Arizona Department of Water Resources (ADWR) in April 2024, CRIT is one step closer to potentially leasing out some of its water. Some details are still under negotiation, such as how much water to lease and the lease duration. The duration of a lease is particularly relevant due to ADWR’s requirement for municipalities to provide proof of a 100-year water supply for new developments. Therefore, CRIT’s decision on this matter may affect how the water can be used by recipients. Leasing water would offer CRIT opportunities for economic and civic development, including a chance to update aging farm irrigation infrastructure, which would improve the efficiency of the Tribe's water use. This aligns with CRIT’s sense of stewardship toward the river. At a conference in March, CRIT Tribal Council Vice Chairman Dwight Lomayesva acknowledged the effects of drought and Arizona’s water shortage, saying “[CRIT] would like to be part of the solution to the problem.”

 

Circle of Blue Article

CRIT Website

­­Team of Artists and Scientists to Engage Community in Water Stewardship


The Arizona Institute of Resilience (AIR) announced the Second Annual Resilience Theme Award. The theme for this year emphasizes water and watershed stewardship. The winning project, Building Hydro-Local Community Through Music, Art, and Watershed Science, seeks to employ music, art, and science to inspire community stewardship of local watersheds. The project is led by Associate Professor Sara Fraker, University of Arizona (U of A) School of Music, with a team from the School of Music, College of Art, AIR, and the Department of Hydrology and Atmospheric Science. The many project collaborators, assembled over the course of a year, include a member of the Tohono O’odham, San Xavier District and a recent graduate of the U of A doctoral program in American Indian Studies, a creative writing professor emerita, an emeritus research professor from the School of Natural Resources and Environment, and a community-based visual artist. The project objective is to inspire interest — through musical compositions and performances, workshops, and artworks in various media — in watershed stewardship and conservation of water and land. The award announcement quoted Fraker’s explanation that “[t]he arts are sometimes able to understand and communicate concepts in an emotional way that doesn’t always come through a scientific article or diagram.” AIR’s Annual Resilience Theme Award provides interdisciplinary U of A teams with support to work on a collaborative project throughout an academic year, integrating research with community outreach and impact.


More Info

The Weekly Wave Returns Next Week!


This is the final issue of the 2024 bi-weekly Summer Wave. The Weekly Wave returns on Friday, August 23.

WATER JOBS & OTHER OPPORTUNITIES


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

NOTICES, PUBLICATIONS & MEDIA

Water Leadership Institute: Community Without Boundaries

The Water Leadership Institute invites the next generation of water leaders 18+ to explore water challenges in their communities and beyond. Through hands-on engagement and knowledge exchange, participants can develop leadership skills, learn about water careers, and contribute to conversations about water advocacy and community care. The application deadline is September 16. More Info


Registration Open for 2024 AWRA, UCOWR, NIWR 60th Anniversary Joint Conference

Join the American Water Resources Association, the Universities Council on Water Resources, and the National Institutes for Water Resources in bringing together a professional community of 60 years! Attendees from each organization will have a unique opportunity to experience higher-level networking, engagement, and learning through the theme Celebrating the Past and Planning for the Future of Water. Register Here The Early Bird Deadline is September 10. More Info


New Study Finds Alarming Rise In Persistent 'Forever Chemicals' In Pesticides

A peer-reviewed study just published in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives has found that per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, known as “forever chemicals,” are increasingly being added to US pesticide products, contaminating waterways and posing potential threats to human health. (Source: Water Online) More Info

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