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November 16, 2018 / Volume 6, Issue 32
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Framing the Conversation at the
2019 WRRC Conference
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The 2019 WRRC annual conference, to be held in Phoenix on February 1st, will begin with a series of presentations that set the stage for the day's discussion about water in Arizona. The conference, titled "Arizona Runs on Water: Scarcity, Challenges, and Community-based Solutions", explores how communities across Arizona are working to make sure they have sufficient water to meet their future needs. Before sharing numerous place-based examples, the program includes three framework presentations. Gerry Walker, Deputy Assistant Director at the Arizona Department of Water Resources (ADWR), will take us on a tour of Arizona, highlighting water supply and demand conditions for various parts of the State. Rita Maguire, former Director and Chief Legal Counsel for ADWR, will provide an overview of statewide water law, as well as some local water regulations. The final presentation in this section of the agenda will be made by Maria Dadgar, Executive Director of the Inter Tribal Council of Arizona, who will provide remarks on Tribal perspectives on water resources. These three talks provide a unique opportunity to get a big-picture view of water in Arizona. The conference will be held at the Black Canyon Conference Center, 9440 N 25th Ave., Phoenix.
Register by December 21st to get the Early Bird Rate. See the full agenda
here
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November 20, 2018
Presented by: Stu Feinglas,
Senior Water Resources Analyst, City of Westminster
A growing population, deepening water scarcity and longer, more severe droughts present tough challenges for many communities. Adopting methods to better manage water resources will build community resilience.
Stu Feinglas will share steps taken towards increasing Westminster's water resilience. Kevin Reidy, Water Conservation Technical Specialist at the Colorado Water Conservation Board, and Matt Mulica, Policy Analyst at the Keystone Policy Center, will share results of a Colorado state-wide dialogue that prioritized strategies to reduce urban water demand, and showcase a modeling tool that helps project future water demands based on different housing types.
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December 11, 2018
Presented by:
U.S. Chamber of Commerce and Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Industry
The Summit will bring together business leaders, government officials, and water experts to discuss best practices in corporate water stewardship and public policies to address the ever growing global demand for water.
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Greg Barron-Gafford Talks About Agrivoltaics
Food, energy, and water systems are linked through strong interdependencies. Each system is vulnerable to projected changes in climate, with higher temperatures and more variable precipitation. On Wednesday, November 14th, Greg Barron-Gafford, Associate Professor and Associate Director for the School of Geography & Development, spoke about how to co-locate agriculture and photovoltaics, through agrivoltaics, to simultaneously increase food and energy production while reducing water use and adapting to projected climatic changes. Barron-Gafford discussed how crops grown using agrivoltaics were more water-efficient, more productive, and more resilient to frost at experimental locations such as the Biosphere 2 Agrivoltaics Learning Lab.
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Elia M. Tapia - Babbitt Dissertation Fellowship Awardee
Elia M. Tapia, a
Ph.D. student in the Arid Lands Resource Sciences GIDP, was recently awarded a Babbitt Dissertation Fellowship from the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy to support her dissertation research: "Water Resources in the Borderlands of the Colorado River Basin: Climate Uncertainties, Anthropogenic Impacts,
and Binational Agreements
." This prestigious fellowship supports the development of dissertation research that improves the integration of land use and water management and policy in the Colorado River Basin, with initial efforts
being held in the state of Arizona. Elia is a
Ph.D. candidate at the
University of Arizona Arid Lands Resource Sciences GIDP. She has been working as a Graduate Research Assistant at the WRRC since she started her doctoral studies.
Her work involves collaboration in the Transboundary Aquifer Assessment Program (TAAP), and the Water Research and Planning Innovations for Dryland Systems Program (Water RAPIDS). Elia's research will
improve the available knowledge of water resources and agreements in the Colorado River Basin, with a
specific focus on the Arizona-Sonora borderlands.
Congratulations Elia!
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Thinking Outside the Box
Dedication, passion, and a willingness to "think outside the box" are qualities all successful teachers possess. Terri Clafton, of Liberty Traditional Charter School in Phoenix, has these qualities and more, which make her a very effective teacher.
Terri reported that her 8-year partnership with APW has "opened her students up to a whole new way of seeing things" and noted how APW field activities have also provided a multi-generational learning opportunity for non-English speaking parents. Terri was an early adopter of APW's Water Investigation Program (WIP), an intensive, year-long commitment to water education excellence. She stated, "If I didn't have the relationship with WIP, I would be scrambling for materials to teach these concepts and ideas and my job would be much harder."
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Dean Burgess Visits the WRRC
Last Friday, November 9th, the WRRC received a surprise visit from Dr. Shane C. Burgess, Charles-Sander Dean of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS), and Bethany Rutledge, Director of Administration and Communications, Office of the Vice President and Dean. Dean Burgess and Rutledge spoke informally with staff members and students about their thoughts on what CALS is doing right and how CALS can better serve its people. Conversations ranged widely and included ideas for future career development and fostering collaboration among CALS units. The WRRC is part of the Division of Agriculture, Life and Veterinary Sciences, and Cooperative Extension.
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WRRC Director Speaks at AWRA Annual Conference
WRRC Director, Sharon B. Megdal attended the American Water Resources Association (AWRA) Annual Conference, November 4-8 in Baltimore, MD. On November 5, Dr. Megdal presented a session talk titled, "Managed Aquifer Recharge, Agriculture, and What Colorado River Shortage Conditions Mean for Arizona". On November 6, she participated as a panelist for the session, "Benefits and Challenges of Delivering Interdisciplinary Graduate and Undergraduate Education in Water Resources".
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