UA Receives Honors at National Water Resource Conference

University of Arizona was well represented at the Universities Council on Water Resources (UCOWR) and The National Institutes for Water Resources (NIWR) annual conference held on June 11-13. At the conference, University of Arizona Professor Karletta Chief (Diné), received the "Friends of UCOWR" award for her outstanding contributions to the organization. The award was presented by WRRC Director Sharon B. Megdal, who was also honored for her service on the UCOWR Board of Directors, on which she served as Past President during the year. In addition, Dr. Megdal presented on "Colorado River Drought Contingency Planning and What it Means for Municipal, Tribal, and Agricultural Water Users in Arizona" during an "Urban Water Conservation and Water Security" session, and she was also a panelist in a session entitled "Connecting Land and Water: Research in the Colorado River Basin". This session, co-organized by WRRC Research Analyst Ashley Hullinger and the Babbitt Center for Land and Water Policy, explored the need for coordinating land and water use decisions in order to meet future water needs of communities, economies, and environments in the rapidly urbanizing American West. In addition, UA Udall Center Director Christopher Scott, presented on "Evidence-based Decision Making in a Post-truth World'' as part of a climate change panel.