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.
Brown Bag Seminar Series
Bring your lunch and join us for a range of presentations on water-related topics of interest.
Access to the WRRC’s Brown Bag series now routinely includes offsite listeners through live webcasts via Goto-Webinar and in-house video coverage.
The slide presentations of most seminars are also available for viewing on the website.
Upcoming Brown Bag Seminars
November 14, 2018
Brown Bag
Agrivoltaics: co-locating agriculture and photovoltaics to increase food and energy production while decreasing water use
Looking Ahead
November 8 Chase Saraiva, Head Brewer, Wilderness Brewing Co., Sustainability and Beer
Previous Brown Bag Seminars
November 14, 2018
Brown Bag
Agrivoltaics: co-locating agriculture and photovoltaics to increase food and energy production while decreasing water use
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.
November 08, 2018
Brown Bag
Brown Bag Seminar - How Beer Can Save Rivers
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’ll 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.
September 27, 2018
Brown Bag
Brown Bag Seminar - Watering Irrigated Agriculture in Arizona
In this overview of Arizona’s irrigated agriculture and its water supply, the focus will be on what is grown, where, with what water; how the water is managed by the state and by irrigators; water efficiency strategies; and economic impacts. The presentation will touch on current irrigation water supply issues concerning growers, their communities, and other water users.
September 18, 2018
Brown Bag
WRRC Brown Bag - Innovating the Urban Water System: The Architecture of a Decentralized Future
Globally, cities are facing increased water stress under growing populations, degrading infrastructure, and changing climate patterns. This imbalance between available water resources and projected urban water demands presents tremendous challenges for water resource management, necessitating novel planning and design strategies and tools. Rainwater harvesting (RWH) has been pointed to as one partial answer; however, the capacity of such a solution to address urban water deficits had been largely untested. This talk will investigate two components of decentralized water infrastructure’s
September 04, 2018
Brown Bag
The Art of Building a Citizen Science Program
Arizona Water Watch (AWW), a new citizen science program offered through the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality, is designed to train volunteers to collect credible scientific data on streams and lakes in Arizona. The program uses innovative ideas like visually friendly forms, hand stitched cloth streams for teaching, micro video lessons, and crowd sourcing data techniques to reach many levels of volunteers.
August 28, 2018
Brown Bag
The Santa Cruz River Heritage Project – Reviving an Urban River
In 2016, the City of Tucson initiated a discussion about using reclaimed water to restore perennial flow to a portion of the Santa Cruz River near downtown Tucson. This action could support riparian habitat in the urban core, improve long-term water management in the region, and stimulate economic activity. The concept was well received by a multitude of stakeholders and Tucson Water began the tasks of bringing this vision to reality. In May 2019, perennial flow will return to the Santa Cruz River near Tucson’ Birthplace, and a new era of water management will begin.
July 18, 2018
Brown Bag
Special Seminar - Food, Water, and Energy in the Arava Valley: Turning Disadvantage to Advantage in the Hyper-arid climate of the Region
The Arava Valley is a sparsely populated region in southern Israel. Its hyper-arid climate produces less than one inch of rain a year and its temperatures reach 115° to 120° f in the summer.
June 15, 2018
Brown Bag
Special Seminar - Diversification of South Africa’s Water Supplies Under Conditions of Drought
Certain parts of South Africa are experiencing drought and the country’s traditional water supplies are under stress. There is a need to unlock more water resources and drive efficiency in the use of existing supplies to ensure water security.
May 21, 2018
Brown Bag
Brown Bag Seminars - Policy Principles for the Red-Dead Conduit and Regional Solutions
Professor Uri Shani will address how active agreements between neighboring jurisdictions can lead to water solutions rather than conflicts. Like the Southwestern United States, Israel, Jordan, and the Palestinian Authority are experiencing increased water demands due to population growth and decreased supplies due to several factors, including changing climate.