October 07, 2022
Upcoming WRRC Special Event: Thirst for Justice Film Screening & Discussion Panel
On Thursday, October 20, the WRRC will host a discussion panel for the documentary Thirst for Justice. The film follows Sanders, Arizona, and Flint, Michigan residents in their efforts to ensure clean, safe drinking water for their communities. The WRRC is holding this special event to coincide with Imagine a Day Without Water, a national day of action to support communities lacking access to clean water.
For the film, Director Leana Hosea interviewed residents and experts in both Sanders and Flint, beginning on the Navajo Nation, where Janene Yazzie investigated the drinking water at her son’s school. With Geiger counter in hand, Yazzie explored nearby abandoned uranium mines, finding areas with radiation levels higher than those around Chernobyl. She suspects the water contamination responsible for elevated uranium levels at the school — and her own ovarian cancer — was caused by pollution from the Church Rock dam spill of 1979, which released uranium mine tailings into the Puerco River. It was the largest release of radioactive material in US history. Yazzie’s interest in water justice led her to the protests at Standing Rock, where she met Flint water activist Nayyirah Shariff. Flint’s water was contaminated when the city switched its water source from the Detroit water system to the Flint River. The more corrosive river water leached lead and other toxins from pipes throughout the city into residents’ drinking water. Scientists in both communities, such as environmental health expert Chris Shuey and mechanical engineer Laura Sullivan, offered expert opinions on the severity of the contamination. Upon visiting Flint, Yazzie discovered that the two tales of water contamination, though separated by hundreds of miles, told the same story of unaccountability, lies, and cover-ups. Both communities’ struggle for water justice is ongoing.
The WRRC Special Event discussion panel will be held on Zoom on October 20 from 4:00–5:00 PM Arizona time. It will feature insights from Film Director and BBC Multimedia Investigative Journalist Leana Hosea, as well as Janene Yazzie, co-founder and CEO of Sixth World Solutions and resident of Sanders, AZ; Chris Shuey, director of the Uranium Impact Assessment Program at Southwest Research and Information Center; Nayyirah Shariff, grassroots organizer and director of Flint Rising; and Laura Sullivan, professor of mechanical engineering at Kettering University and member of the Flint Water Interagency Committee. The panel discussion will include time for a Q&A. Registration for the event is now open. All registrants will receive a link to view the documentary free of charge. The asynchronous screening will be available from Sunday, October 16 through Saturday, October 22.
Recent News
November 04, 2022
APW AmeriCorps Spotlight: Juliana Perez
My name is Juliana, and I am one of four AmeriCorps Water Educators in Tucson working with Arizona Project WET (APW). So much happened in our first few weeks on the job. We all jumped right into the action. As water educators, we are tasked with teaching students from 4th grade all the way through high school through APW’s different programs. During the first month, in addition to learning about water and how to lead the lessons through training and seminars, we also had firsthand teaching experiences.
November 04, 2022
Reclamation Announces New Federal Action on the Colorado River
On Friday, October 28, the US Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) announced the initiation of an expedited process for developing a “Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS)” on proposed revisions to the December 2007 Record of Decision relating to the Colorado River Interim Guidelines. The SEIS will lay out options to address the troubling operating conditions facing the river system now and in the future. Public comments submitted by December 20 will be reflected in the draft SEIS to be released next spring, with the final expected in late summer.
November 04, 2022
WRRC Offers Three Events in November
The WRRC has three great events lined up for this month. Next week, on Thursday, November 10, we will be hosting a Brown Bag webinar featuring two University of Arizona (UArizona) graduate students who will each present on their 104(b) research projects. The presentation from Chandler Noyes will address the paleoclimate and past recharge rates in the Tucson Basin across the Holocene.
October 28, 2022
Divine Kickingbird Receives First Rodney Blaine Lewis Scholars Award
The inaugural recipient of the Rodney Blaine Lewis Scholars Award is Divine Kickingbird, who is enrolled at the University of Arizona as a first-year law student and aims to join the graduate program in Tribal Governance.