On Thursday, February 13, 2025, the WRRC hosted its 21st Annual Chocolate Fest. Dozens of water enthusiasts gathered to share chocolate treats and enjoy an inspiring program. 

The WRRC is pleased to welcome Anne Gondor to the WRRC team! She will serve as Associate in Extension for the Water RAPIDS program, and will work with local, state, nonprofit, and federal partners on water resources planning projects to develop solutions that meet the needs of stakeholders and the environment.

Did you know that most of the Earth’s groundwater is over 12,000 years old? The WRRC and the U of A Department of Hydrology & Atmospheric Sciences co-sponsored a Darcy Lecture on Living Fossils: Ancient Groundwaters in the Anthropocene, given by Grant Ferguson on February 5, 2025.

The February 2025 issue of the journal Water features an article by Professor Elia M. Tapia-Villaseñor of the Universidad de Sonora Departamento de Geología, WRRC Director Sharon B. Megdal, and Hydrologic Research Center Chief Research Scientist Eylon Shamir.

Last Friday, February 7, 2025, the WRRC hosted a hybrid author talk and book signing event featuring Pima-Maricopa Irrigation Project Director David DeJong’s latest book, Damming the Gila: The Gila River Indian Community and the San Carlos Irrigation Project, 1900–1942. 

The winners of the WRRC’s 2024 Photo Contest were announced yesterday at our 21st Annual Chocolate Fest, held on February 13, 2025. (We will provide a recap of the Chocolate Fest next week.) Because there were so many incredible submissions, the selection process was both a pleasure and a challenge.

Arizona Project WET is excited to introduce TWO new Outreach Coordinators on the Water Festival team, Michael Spaeth and Tamara Wells! Although they dock at the Tucson and Phoenix hubs respectively, you can find them implementing meaningful, water-focused, experiential, environmental education throughout Arizona.

On July 1, 2024, WRRC Director Sharon B. Megdal submitted comments to the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) in response to their call for input to help government decision-making.

On January 22, 2025, university, agency, and industry water experts gathered in Albuquerque, NM, to discuss groundwater and agriculture. The University of California-Davis Agricultural Water Center hosted its 3rd Annual USDA/UC-Davis Project Symposium, Southwest Groundwater and Sustainable Agricultural Systems, which reported on research carried out within the multi-university project.

On Thursday, January 30, 2025, the WRRC kicked off its Spring 2025 Water Webinar series with an energizing webinar, Women and Water — Networking and Leading Across the Globe.