November 2, 2018 / Volume 6, Issue 30

Getting WET With ADEQ
"Super excited" was the expression used by ADEQ's water quality monitoring guru, Meghan Smart, to describe the new partnership with Arizona Project WET (APW) to begin monitoring select rivers during school field investigations. Smart, who recently delivered a brown bag presentation for the WRRC, was pleasantly surprised by APW's quick response and interest in the Arizona Water Watch (AWW) citizen science program.
 
WRRC EVENTS
November 8, 2018
 
Speaker:  Chase Saraiva, Head Brewer, Arizona Wilderness Brewing Company
 
 
Water, such a vital component to our lives and the environment around us, is also the main ingredient in beer. As we dive into what it takes to make beer and the role water has in this fermented beverage, we will also investigate some creative ways we are able to conserve water inside the brewery and out. From involvement with local farmers, a maltster, and a charitable environmental organization, to working with recycled wastewater, all it takes is an idea, a conversation, and little creativity to make an impact.
 
If you cannot get to the WRRC on November 8, you can join us here
November 14, 2018
 
Speaker:   Greg Barron-Gafford, Associate Professor and Associate Director, School of Geography and Development
 
 
Food, energy, and water systems, especially in drylands, are vulnerable to projected changes in climate - primarily changes in the timing and amount of precipitation and rising air temperatures. For the most part, we grow non-dryland adapted food within a dryland climate through a reliance on irrigation, and the water resource requirements are large and increasing. At the same time, renewable energy in drylands is vulnerable to the same warming trends that threaten food systems. The abundance of sunlight in the southwest US constitutes a significant solar energy resource. We have been studying the novel solution of co-locating agriculture and photovoltaics - agrivoltaics - as an untapped opportunity to simultaneously increase food and energy production while reducing water use.
 
If you cannot get to the WRRC on November 14, you can join us here
WRRC NEWS
classesWRRC Conference to Focus on Water Challenges and Solutions
   
Communities across Arizona are working to identify and implement solutions to water scarcity issues, both current and future. The Water Resources Research Center's annual conference, Arizona Runs on Water: Scarcity, Challenges, and Community-based Solutions, will feature community panels and lunchtime lightning talks to bring many voices and perspectives to the conversation. Community Panels will include 12 presentations, each focusing on a different geographic area, including Cochise, Graham, Yuma, Mohave, and Yavapai counties, as well as the Gila River Indian Community, the Colorado River Indian Tribes, the Town of Payson, and the City of Flagstaff.  
 
In order to pull in more case studies, the conference will include a novel participation element. We are soliciting examples of water challenges and solutions, and asking people to submit them online here. We will include all your responses in a compendium of case studies as a follow-up to the conference. Several of the submitters will present lightning talks during the conference's lunchtime session.
 
The conference will be held at the Black Canyon Conference Center, located at 9440 N. 25th Ave., in Phoenix, Arizona. 
 

Photo Sharon B. Megdal discusses water with moderator Ben Perlman
smithsonianIsrael and Arizona: Shared Water Challenges and Opportunities
 
Though they are thousands of miles apart, Israel and Arizona have a lot in common when it comes to water. Both areas regularly face drought conditions, both areas face new demands brought forth by growing economies and populations, and both share borders with other nations and regional water users. The 2018 Jewish National Fund (JNF) National Conference, held on October 25-28 in Phoenix, featured a plenary session entitled "Israel Water Challenges and Opportunities." WRRC Director Sharon B. Megdal was a featured panelist in that session, discussing global interest in Israel's water management experiences and successes. The plenary also featured Bob Lembke of Colorado and Noa Zer and Clive Lipchin of Israel's Arava region. Megdal also noted the JNF is spearheading a joint effort between the University of Arizona and Israel's Arava Valley to find solutions for developing countries in the areas of food, water, and energy security.     
     
btmBTM at the Scottsdale Canal Confluence
 
A special screening of Beyond the Mirage: the Future of Water in the West (BTM) will be held at the Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art at 2:00 pm on November 11, followed by Q&A with the filmmaker. The prize-winning documentary and interactive web experience was developed through a collaboration among the WRRC, the UA College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, and Arizona Public Media.  BTM will be on view at Scottsdale's Canal Convergence event, November 9 - 11. As the winner of the Arizona Community Foundation's (ACF) first New Arizona Prize - Water Challenge, BTM will share space in the ACF tent with the winners of this year's Challenge. We will be guiding people through the web experience that allows users to make their own mini-documentaries from a collection of 250 video clips. Look for the ACF tent at the cross-streets of Via Soleri and Goldwater in the heart of Canal Convergence activities, and on Sunday, catch the film screening nearby at SMOCA.
 
     
nasNational Academy Releases Water Priority Report for the U.S. Geological Survey
 
The National Academy of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, enlisted by the Water Mission Area (WMA) of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), recently released a consensus study report identifying, and providing recommendations for, the nation's highest priority water science and resource challenges over the next 25 years. The WMA has long been relied upon by the government, the private sector, and the public to deliver high-quality, unbiased scientific information related to the nation's water resources. The Committee on Future Water Resource Needs for the Nation: Water Science and Research at the U.S. Geological Survey developed the consensus report by identifying five overarching questions that would have the highest potential benefit to USGS strategic science. The committee report also presents recommendations to provide a framework to help guide the evolution of the WMA in the next 25 years. These include specific recommendations involving data collection, citizen science, collaboration, web-based tool development, water accounting and monitoring, risk assessment, and building a workforce.      
 
Slides from a webinar presentation summarizing the report can be found here.  
   
The full report can be purchased and a "Report in Brief" can be downloaded here.         
photoWRRC Photo Contest Submission Deadline Nears

The photo contest deadline of Dec. 7 is a little more than a month away. We've had many wonderful submissions and would love to have even more. Check out our website for the submission form, contest rules, and photos from previous contests. We look forward to seeing your photographic creativity!
    
ANNOUNCEMENTS