Urgent Water Management Choices Weighed at Conference in Phoenix
Contact: Claire Zucker
Associate Director, UA Water Resources Research Center
clzucker@email.arizona.edu
Office: (520) 621-5725
Urgent Water Management Choices Weighed at Conference in Phoenix
Water at the Crossroads: The Next 40 Years
It’s hard to turn on the news without hearing another story about water in the West as drought planning, global climate impacts, and new or changed regulations demand attention. How we manage our water is key to our future. In Arizona, we are at a crossroads: decisions made now will affect the state’s water security long into the future. Good water management decisions are guided by knowledge about where we have been and where we want to go. This is the focus of the University of Arizona Water Resources Research Center’s upcoming conference, Water at the Crossroads: The Next 40 Years.
Two influential keynote speakers will frame the program by calling attention to major water issues. Former Governor and Secretary of the Interior Bruce Babbitt will present on Arizona’s groundwater management present and future concerns; and U.S. Bureau of Reclamation Commissioner Brenda Burman will present the luncheon keynote, “The Colorado River and Arizona's Water Management.” Their presentations underscore the urgency of the present period.
The program also features a variety of perspectives and ideas from experts around the state. Of particular interest is a panel of five former Arizona Department of Water Resources Directors, whose collective experience spans more than 30 years of state water management. This will be a unique chance to hear first-hand from the people who led the formation and implementation of current water policy. State legislators play an important role in water management, and a panel will feature the voices of Arizona Representatives Andrés Cano, Regina Cobb, David Cook, and Senator Lisa Otondo during the afternoon. Other panels will focus on a variety of topics including water’s relationship to agriculture, natural systems, and urban and rural areas, as well as the role of technology, water reuse, and issues with water quality. In addition, there will be opportunities for the audience to weigh in on topics addressed by the speakers and panelists.
The WRRC Conference will be held on Friday, March 27th, from 8:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at the Black Canyon Conference Center in Phoenix, Arizona. The agenda can be found here. Online registration is open through March 19th, 2020. On-site registration will be available for a $10 additional charge.
The University of Arizona Water Resources Research Center (WRRC) is a unit within the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. We tackle key water policy and management issues, empower informed decision-making, and enrich understanding through engagement, education, and applied research. For more information, visit us at wrrc.arizona.edu.