May 2, 2013
12 pps.
The opportunity to hear expert presentations and discussion on the issue of water security attracted approximately 300 people to the WRRC’s annual conference, “Water Security from the Ground Up”. This issue of AWR summarizes the key points from the conference.
Table of Contents:
Features
Madhumitha Raghav,
Susanna Eden, Katharine Mitchell & Becky Witte
April 23, 2013
12 pps.
When the news reports on traces of birth control hormones or pain killers found in water, we do not know what to think. Is there any danger? How will these contaminants affect fish and other wildlife? Should we do something? What should we do? Many water contaminants are the subject of regulations that protect water quality, but many more fall into the category of substances for which we do not know the answer to these basic questions. These include substances that have been called emerging contaminants or contaminants of emerging concern (CECs).
February 15, 2013
8 pps.
Newly elected Central Arizona Water Conservation District Board members were interviewed to learn about their goals, expertise,
December 15, 2012
12 pps.
Fungicide in orange juice, Arsenic in apple juice, Listeria in cantaloupe--these are the latest “food safety issues you care about” listed at foodandwaterwatch.org. But how important are these issues? The public can see Food and Drug Administration reports on all three by going to the FDA website. An outbreak of Listeria associated with contaminated cantaloupe caused 30 deaths in 2011, and concern continued in 2012 with an additional death and recalls of potentially contaminated fruit. Washing the fruit before cutting it might have lowered the death toll.
November 14, 2012
Arizona Environmental Water Needs (AzEWN) Methodology Guidebook: Determining the best methods or quantifying environmental flow needs depends on what is to be studied as well as how the information will be used. This guidebook will provide a description of the methodologies used in Arizona to define the environment’s need for water. Depending on the geographic context, the time and effort available, and whether the goal is restoration or maintenance of an ecosystem, some methods will be more appropriate for a given application than others.
October 15, 2012
7 pps.
During my fi rst-ever sabbatical this spring 2012, I traveled to four continents as part of my project on comparative policy analysis. I participated in the 6th World Water Forum in Marseille, shared lessons learned with Australian, Israeli and other water researchers and professionals, and heard views on good groundwater governance practices in Latin America and South America as a member of the team working with the Global Groundwater Governance Project (www.groundwatergovernance.org).
October 2, 2012
72 pps.
Arizona Environmental Water Needs Assessment (AzEWNA) Report: Considering environmental water needs alongside human demands is an emerging paradigm in water policy. The science of environmental water needs (or e‐flows) is ever growing and evolving. And yet, no compendium of efforts to define e‐flows in Arizona had been compiled,until now. This Assessment Report describes the geographic location and focus of nearly 100 studies of environmental water needs in Arizona, using all relevant sources.
August 29, 2012
12 pps.
In recent years, U.S. employers have been reaching out internationally in order to fill job vacancies in highly skilled science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) fields. This situation has led to calls for better STEM education in the United States. Innovative educational initiatives have emerged to answer the call for more professional competence in these STEM areas. In his 2012 State of the Union address to Congress, President Barrack Obama again emphasized the need to interest and educate young people to become the scientists, engineers and mathematicians of the future.
August 6, 2012
17 pps.
Abstract: Installation of decentralized grey water treatment systems in small rural communities contributes to a more sustainable water supply. In order to gauge community attitudes about collection and use of grey water, a door-to-door survey in the farming community of Deir Alla, Jordan was conducted by Royal Scientific Society intervieAbstract: Installation of decentralized grey water treatment systems in small rural communities contributes to a more sustainable water supply.
August 3, 2012
This bulletin provides a concise introduction to the current knowledge about environmental water demands in the North/Northeastern Arizona Region. It outlines gaps in the understanding of environmental demands and illustrates how environmental demands can be considered in the context of other regional water demands. There are four bulletins in this series, Central Arizona, Southeastern Arizona, Colorado River and North/Northeastern Arizona.
August 3, 2012
This bulletin provides a concise introduction to the current knowledge about environmental water demands in the Southeastern Arizona Region. It outlines gaps in the understanding of environmental demands and illustrates how environmental demands can be considered in the context of other regional water demands. There are four bulletins in this series, Central Arizona, Southeastern Arizona, Colorado River and North/Northeastern Arizona.
August 3, 2012
This bulletin provides a concise introduction to the current knowledge about environmental water demands in the Colorado River Region. It outlines gaps in the understanding of environmental demands and illustrates how environmental demands can be considered in the context of other regional water demands. There are four bulletins in this series, Central Arizona, Southeastern Arizona, Colorado River and North/Northeastern Arizona.
August 3, 2012
This bulletin provides a concise introduction to the current knowledge about environmental water demands in the Central Arizona Region. It outlines gaps in the understanding of environmental demands and illustrates how environmental demands can be considered in the context of other regional water demands. There are four bulletins in this series, Central Arizona, Southeastern Arizona, Colorado River and North/Northeastern Arizona.
Robert G. Varady, Frank van Weert,
Sharon B Megdal, Andrea Gerlak, Christine Abdalla Iskandar & Lily House-Peters
June 1, 2012
Governance is an immense conceptual construct, encompassing a suite of precepts, principles, ideas, theories, contexts, objectives, and practices. The FAO/ GEF project “Groundwater Governance: A Global Framework for Country Action” is a comprehensive attempt to understand and articulate this notion in its entirety—as applied to the particular subject of groundwater.
May 30, 2012
12 pps.
When the captain announced the plane’s descent, I put my book down and peered out the window as I always do. I saw sand dunes first, leading my eye to a small mountain range flanked by dirt roads and farm fields. The mountains framed successive basins, each with the same dry ground spotted with desert shrubs. After the next range, a city emerged. Densely packed buildings appeared beside finished roads. And the canals ran from the farm fields into the city, running full next to dry riverbeds. It looked a lot like Tucson.
May 1, 2012
8 pps.
Increasing demands on limited water resources have made wastewater recycling (reclamation or reuse) an attractive option for extending water supplies. Treatment technologies have evolved such that recycled water is of sufficient quality to satisfy most non-potable demands, and as such, recycled water has increasingly been used for municipal irrigation, toilet flushing, industrial cooling, and other applications. Many communities are currently engaging in discussions about the possibility of using recycled water to meet potable demands as well.
May 1, 2012
4 pps.
In 2009, Arizona Governor Jan Brewer announced the formation of the Blue Ribbon Panel on Water Sustainability (BRP) to focus on water conservation and recycling as strategies for improving water sustainability in Arizona.
March 15, 2012
Sustainable water management is a critical concern in the semi-arid portions of the American Southwest. This paper explains the decentralized approach to water supply management in this region, including the traditional roles of the public and private sectors. With Arizona as a focus, it explores how the water supply challenges of the twenty-first century require new approaches and partnerships for funding infrastructure, obtaining new water supplies, water banking, and water treatment.
March 7, 2012
The USA and Mexico have initiated comprehensive assessment of 4 of the 18 aquifers underlying their 3000 km border. Binational management of groundwater is not currently proposed. University and agency researchers plus USA and Mexican federal, state, and local agency staff have collaboratively identified key challenges facing the Santa Cruz River Valley Aquifer located between the states of Arizona and Sonora. The aquifer is subject to recharge variability, which is compounded by climate change, and is experiencing growing urban demand for groundwater.
March 1, 2012
The fourth edition of the World Water Development Report (WWDR4), ‘Managing Water under Uncertainty and Risk’ was recently launched at the 6th World Water Forum in Marseille by Irina Bokova, UNESCO Director General, and Michel Jarraud, UN-Water Chair. The WWDR4 is a comprehensive review of the world's freshwater resources and seeks to demonstrate, among other messages, that water underpins all aspects of development, and that a coordinated approach to managing and allocating water is critical.
February 27, 2012
12 pps.
Global Water Brigades (GWB) is a program under Global Brigades, the largest student-led, non-profit, sustainable development organization in the world. Global Brigades works on a holistic model with disciplines in water, public health, medical, dental, architecture, environmental, law, business, and micro-finance.
February 14, 2012
This chapter develops the story of the Central Arizona Project as an example of the large-scale, long-distance water conveyance projects that have enabled growth and development to occur in the West far from sources of water. It examines the energy implication of the CAP as well as the implications of changes and constraints in the energy industry on CAP water supplies and costs. It looks also at broader policy questions raised by the interdependencies of water and energy as embodied in the CAP.
February 1, 2012
This article describes the WRRC’s Conserve to Enhance (C2E) Tucson pilot project from concept to implementation and preliminary results. C2E aims to connect conservation actions with water for the environment by developing mechanisms for funding water-related environmental enhancements. The Tucson pilot demonstrates the challenges and opportunities of making this concept a reality.
David K. Hubler, James C. Baygents, Christine Mackay,
Sharon B Megdal & James Farrell
February 1, 2012
High-volume semiconductor manufacturing (HVSM) with high demands for freshwater is often located in regions with limited water resources. This nexus of water demand and water scarcity has raised concerns among municipal governments, prompting several to consider water supply restrictions as they plan for economic growth and development. Using water use data and economic valuations of land use from Chandler, Ariz., this study compares the fiscal effect of HVSM with three alternative water uses: office, retail, and general manufacturing.
