Educational Insight on Important Water Issues
Newsletters
September 11, 2020
Weekly Wave: WRRC 2020 Photo Contest - Arizona & Arid Zones
The WRRC photo contest is back, and we are excited to see what our contestants will bring to the table this year. As with the last few photo contests we’ve...
September 04, 2020
Reflections: Relevance Today of Comments on Arizona’s Future from 1987
I have lived in Arizona for close to 42 years. When I moved to Arizona from New Jersey, where I grew up and was educated, I had no idea I would become a...
August 28, 2020
Weekly Wave: Welcome to the Fall Semester!
The WRRC wants to extend a warm welcome to all those returning to school for the Fall semester. This summer has been long, hot, and dry. The COVID-19...
August 21, 2020
WRRC Weekly Wave: Where is the Rain?
After another week of extreme heat and no rain, many in Tucson and around the state are asking, where are the monsoons? Recent articles in the Arizona...
August 07, 2020
Summer Wave - Reflections: On Wicked Water Problems
Although my spring-summer sabbatical lecture tour did not take place as planned due to COVID-19, I did deliver more than a dozen lectures and participated...
July 24, 2020
Summer Wave: APW Director Wins Cooperative Extension Award
Longtime member of the WRRC team, Kerry Schwartz, received the Cooperative Extension Faculty of the Year award from the UArizona Cooperative Extension...
Articles, Reports and Other
Water Harvesting
August 17, 2020
Water Matters
Water Matters is the newsletter from Tucson Water included with the monthly Utility Services Statements to customers. The first item is 10 Ways to Harvest Rain.
Read the bulletin
Water Harvesting
August 01, 2020
Rain Water Harvesting Saves Water and Supports Healthy Trees
Water conservation is an important issue in the Southwest. Many urban landscapes use native or desert-adapted plants to reduce the amount of irrigation needed. Harvesting rainwater is another strategy to supplement irrigation and reduce potable water use. Rainwater harvesting has become more popular in recent years for both commercial and private properties to conserve water. Other benefits include reducing stormwater runoff, flooding, and soil erosion, and getting free, good quality water for irrigating plants.
Reports
June 15, 2020
2020 WOTUS Rule
The United States has had a tumultuous relationship with one of its most precious resources — water. By the 1970s, aggressive development in the United States necessitated the implementation of regulatory measures to protect the environment. Since then, the debate has focused not on whether the environment should be protected, but how comprehensively that regulatory protection should extend. Nowhere has this debate been more evident than with the federal Clean Water Act (CWA) and the definition of “waters of the United States” (WOTUS).
Reports
October 15, 2019
Ambos Nogales Effluent
Perennial flows in the United States of America (US) portion of the Santa Cruz River downstream from the Nogales International Wastewater Treatment Plant (NIWTP) depend on its effluent discharges. The US portion is subject to high variability in flows, due to both wastewater overflow events resulting from heavy rainfall, and decreases in flow resulting from treatment and discharge of Mexican wastewater by Mexico.
The diversion of wastewater generated from NIWTP has the potential to have social, institutional, hydrological, and ecological effects to the Ambos Nogales region (Nogales, Arizona...
Water Harvesting
July 17, 2019
1986 Water Harvesting Primer Still Relevant Today
Back in the 1980s, the University of Arizona operated a research facility near Oracle, AZ, investigating water harvesting and runoff farming. One of the products of their research was a Primer on Water Harvesting and Runoff Farming written by Gerald Matlock and Gordon Dutt. The authors were predicting the widespread adoption of water harvesting for agriculture as early as 1965, a prediction that has yet to be realized. The primer contains calculations of water yields under various conditions and the relation to yields of various crops. It also contains a guide to design and...
Journal Articles
July 01, 2019
Tucson Leads the Way
In collaboration with city, county, and academic institutions can open new opportunities to secure new water resources. Green infrastructure is critical to reducing the demand on potable supplies, explain authors Susanna Eden at the University of Arizona Water Resources Research Center and at the Pima County Regional Flood Control District.
Water harvesting has been used in the Tucson, Arizona region since prehistoric times and is now in resurgence. Within the past 30 years, Tucson has become a leader in desert rainwater and stormwater capture to build resilience and address growing concerns...
Information Sources
May 31, 2017
Desert Flows Methodology Guidebook
Successful implementation of environmental flow projects depends on land and water managers having clear objectives and access to reliable data. This guidebook provides information on a variety of methods that can be utilized under different fiscal or temporal constraints to determine and implement appropriate environmental flow targets. Based on evidence from cases focused in the Southwestern United States and Northern Mexico, steps are suggested to help ensure maintenance of flows under uncertain future natural and socio-economic conditions. The importance of education and engagement to...
September 12, 2016
Desert Flows Assessment
In the past decade there has been increased interest in providing water to meet the needs of riparian and aquatic ecosystems in the western United States and policymakers are using their knowledge of environmental flow needs to advocate for both political and scientific changes. However, there are significant challenges associated with including environmental flows in water management and planning. First, water rights for environmental flows are not universal, and in many cases legal tools used to incorporate the environment into water management and planning only require new users to...
November 14, 2012
Arizona Environmental Water Needs Methodology Guidebook
Arizona Environmental Water Needs (AzEWN) Methodology Guidebook: Determining the best methods or quantifying environmental flow needs depends on what is to be studied as well as how the information will be used. This guidebook will provide a description of the methodologies used in Arizona to define the environment’s need for water. Depending on the geographic context, the time and effort available, and whether the goal is restoration or maintenance of an ecosystem, some methods will be more appropriate for a given application than others. The resulting flows prescribed by each method...
October 01, 2012
AZ Know Your Water
A consumer's guide to water sources in Arizona, quality regulations, and home water treatment options, funded through the TRIF Water Sustainability Program grants program has been reprinted due to popular demand and is now available. This convenient spiral bound volume covers water use and water sources in Arizona, minerals and contaminants in water, water quality regulations and standards, and home water treatment options. Each option is fully described, including operation and maintenance tips. Copies of the booklet are available at the University of Arizona, Water Resources Research...
March 29, 2011
AzEWN Assessment and Methodology Guidebook Brochure
AzEWN Assessment and Methodology Guidebook Brochure: This document is a four-page color brochure highlighting the contents of the Arizona Environmental Water Needs Assessment Report and Methodology Guidebook.
Protecting Arizona’s natural environment, water supply, and open spaces is a high priority for Arizona citizens. The Arizona Environmental Water Needs Assessment systematically assembled technical information about the environment’s water needs that can be used in water planning and policymaking statewide. AzEWNA documents and inventory data are intended to improve...
August 01, 2009
Arizona Well Owners' Guide to Water Supply
This booklet is intended for Arizona residents who depend on private wells for their water needs. Well owners who want to become familiar with Arizona's groundwater sources, water quality and water testing options, and well maintenance issues should read this booklet. Topics include:
An overview of the state's water resources and how Arizona's major cities use these resources.
A description of Arizona's geology and how location affects the quantity and quality of aquifer water resources in our state.
Common contaminant found in Arizona's...