The Arizona Water Factsheet series was undertaken by the UArizona Water Resources Research Center (WRRC to help address the local nature of water challenges and solutions in the state.
Brown Bag Seminar/Webinar Series
Grab your lunch and join us for a range of presentations on water-related
topics of interest.
Access to the WRRC’s Brown Bag series is currently being held live via Zoom webcasts.
The slide presentations of most seminars are also available for viewing on the website.
Get updates on upcoming Brown Bag Seminars
Upcoming Brown Bag Seminars

Previous Brown Bag Seminars/Webinars

THIS WEBINAR HAS BEEN CANCELED

Non-Governmental Organizations, or NGOs, is the name that was given to civil society in several of the Minutes from the 1944 Treaty on International Waters between the United States and Mexico. The NGOs appear as party to a three-way contribution of water for the environment in Minutes 316, 319, and 323. But the contribution of the NGOs to the accomplishments of these Minutes in the Colorado River extends beyond the traditional place of environmental advocates, contributing as shuttle diplomats to facilitate cross-border understanding.

This presentation offers a critical reassessment of the emblematic water conflict over the Los Angeles Aqueduct, one of the first large inter-basin water transfers in the American West. Based on three years of in-depth archival, ethnographic, and collaborative research, it examines how public, private, and tribal interests have been weighed in decision-making about this water transfer over the course of more than a century of social, regulatory, and environmental change.

Brought to you by the WRRC and the Colorado Water Center at Colorado State University, this panel will focus on an Upper Basin perspective of current Colorado River issues. The Upper Basin does not have the luxury of pulling water out of reservoirs to supply its water users. Climate change and the prior appropriation system control water uses and naturally limit water use. Panelists will discuss the Upper Basin Drought Contingency Plan and the methods being used to efficiently use water from the Colorado River.

Due to prolonged drought, overall snowfall and runoff into the Colorado River Basin are at all-time lows, resulting in the combined water storage in the river's two primary reservoirs—Lakes Powell and Mead—dropping to just 32 percent of capacity. The Secretary of the Interior recently announced the first-ever shortage declaration, reducing the availability of Colorado River supplies to Nevada in 2022. Projections indicate that Lake Mead water levels will continue to decline, and the likelihood of shortage remains high in future years.

In Mexico, groundwater availability has been decreasing, especially in arid and semi-arid regions. One way to address this decline is using Managed Aquifer Recharge (MAR) to boost aquifer recharge with stormwater or treated wastewater. Considering the impact that climate change can have on natural recharge, the implementation of MAR efforts in the Northwest region of Mexico would help maintain environmental services, halt seawater intrusion, and act as a source for potable service.

The severe scarcity of "natural" water resources has forced Israel to implement forward-thinking policies, create advanced technologies, and make decisions that were not always economically supported. Much labor and investment were required to address Israel’s lack of "natural" water resources.

On November 19, the WRRC hosted Betsy Wilkening, president of Polar Educators International, and Kristen Poppleton, senior director of programs for Climate Generation, for a Brown Bag webinar on their experiences at the United Nations 26th Conference of the Parties (COP26).

Contamination of our environment from microplastics (1 mm to 5 mm in size) is gaining significant public interest due largely to their emergence as an environmental and potential human health threat.