Retirement is generally a time for an individual to relax, slow down, and travel. Betsy Wilkening, an outreach education specialist with AZ Project WET, will only be doing one of these things a few days after she retires at the end of October. 

On Tuesday, September 14, the WRRC hosted the webinar Binational Cooperation in the Colorado River Basin: United States and Mexico, featuring US Department of the Interior, Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) Binational Program Manager Amy Witherall and Analyst Sean Schrag-Toso. 

 Attendees from around the world joined the virtual program to hear the speaker’s perspectives and visions for Tribal water resilience. Local, state, federal, and Tribal governments, professional associations, water utilities and irrigation districts, academics and students, businesses, and interested citizens were represented. Attendees included more than 40 Tribal Nations and Indigenous communities, 22 countries, 27 US states, and 14 of Arizona’s 15 counties. We are thrilled to have reached such a broad audience. Since wrapping up, the WRRC has received many positive and gracious comments.

“Greetings. It’s a good day,” said a speaker at the WRRC 2021 Annual Conference, Tribal Water Resilience in a Changing Environment, held August 30 – September 1.

The WRRC 2021 Virtual Annual Conference, Tribal Water Resilience in a Changing Environment, is just over a week away! The program consisting almost entirely of Native voices, including Tribal leaders, emerging water professionals, advocates, and the bearers of traditional knowledge, will also feature a screening of the film Paya: The Water Story of the Paiute

On August 13, the WRRC held the pre-conference webinar, Tribal Water Rights and Settlements, to provide legal context for the broader discussions of Tribal water resilience to take place at the WRRC’s upcoming virtual conference, August 30 – September 1.

Water levels at the Great Salt Lake, Lake Mead, and Lake Powell fell to record lows in July. Persistent drought conditions throughout the West are especially dire in Utah, where the US Drought Monitor indicates that nearly 100% percent of the state is experiencing the two most severe drought levels. 

As drought, extreme heat, and wildfires plague the West, the ability of our communities to withstand and/or adapt to water stresses—their water resilience—is in question. 

The University of Arizona has been ranked No. 1 among US institutions in water resources for the fifth consecutive year, according to the recently published 2021 ShanghaiRanking. 

On July 18, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Timothy O’Brien published a comprehensive article entitled “Can the Southwest Survive with Less Water?” on Bloomberg Opinion.