Tó éí ííńá át'é – Water is Life, in the Diné, or Navajo language. This truth is known to the Diné and throughout Arizona. A recent art exhibition, Parched: The Art of Water in the Southwest, explores the complexities and challenges of water in the face of climate change, informed by cultural and scientific inquiry. In early 2019, a group of Arizona-based artists took part in a week-long water “boot-camp” organized through a collaboration between the Flagstaff Arts Council, Coconino Plateau Watershed Partnership, Northern Arizona University, and the Sierra Club Grand Canyon Chapter.

As an addendum to last week’s article, APW is also initiating a Groundwater Education & Conservation (GEC) program in Pinal County, where the importance of the agricultural perspective cannot be overstated. In the Pinal Active Management Area (AMA), the groundwater management goal is to preserve the agricultural economy for as long as feasible, while considering the need to preserve groundwater for future non-irrigation uses. Growing concerns that Pinal County will not be able to meet that goal for much longer has prompted efforts from all stakeholders to develop new conservation programs and to improve existing management practices.

The WRRC is pleased to feature the following article summary prepared by the author, UArizona researcher (retired) Chris Eastoe. This study used measurements of the ratios of stable (non-radioactive) isotopes in the hydrogen and oxygen of water molecules.

Gasps of excitement and broad smiles are common when students explore the groundwater system using APW’s 3D student models. APW is very excited and eager to expand this success through a multiyear grant from Arizona Department of Water Resources (ADWR), which provides funding to educate West Valley students on Arizona’s groundwater conditions. 

Over the past three issues of the Weekly Wave, an article on each of Arizona’s three WaterSMART (Sustain and Manage America’s Resources for Tomorrow) Basin Studies (Basin Studies) was presented. 

The Eloy and Maricopa-Stanfield Basin Study (Basin Study) is a collaboration between the US Bureau of Reclamation and the Pinal Partnership. 

Since 2017, Betsy Wilkening of APW has attended the American Geophysical Union (AGU) Fall Meeting to present the achievements of the Recharge the Rain (RtR) project, a NOAA-sponsored Environmental Literacy Program in partnership with Watershed Management Group.

The Lower Santa Cruz River Basin Study (Basin Study) was proposed by the Southern Arizona Water Users Association and was initiated by the US Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) in 2016. 

The deadline to submit photos to the WRRC photo contest is quickly approaching. Show us water in cities and towns, water in nature, water and people, water and industry, water and anything that sparks your imagination!

The following starts a four-part article series from our valued colleagues at the US Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation). The series will cover the three Basin Studies currently underway in Arizona. John Rasmussen, Eve Halper, and Valerie Swick, Water Resource Planners at Reclamation, authored the series.