August 26, 2016 / Volume 4, Issue 24


Desert Landscaping Website Launched  
Are you ready to imagine, design, and plant your water-smart landscaping? The UA Water Resources Research Center's new Desert Landscaping website has tools and tips to help. The mobile-friendly site emphasizes arid-adapted gardening and features a "Plant Selector" tool to help you find the right plants for your landscaping project.
 
The Desert Landscaping website builds on the WRRC's work to create the Desert Landscaping CDROM, first released in 1996. For this 2016 update, we are very grateful to the UA Campus Arboretum and to Pima County Regional Flood Control District for their technical advice as well as text and photo contributions.
 
Through the website, you can access details on over 600 plants and then narrow your search by selecting criteria such as plant type, seasonality, or place of origin. The "Design Concept" gallery will spark ideas and "Tips" pages highlight a great variety of information such as tips on water harvesting, invasive and problem plants, microclimates, pruning and fertilizing, and gardening to attract wildlife. Finally, test your plant knowledge using the "Plant Trivia" game or dive into the "Resources" pages to find links to other helpful websites.
 
This website, with numerous updated features, was made possible through support from Water, Environmental, and Energy Solutions (WEES) as part of UA's Technology and Research Initiative Fund. We are grateful to the Communications and Cyber Technologies team within UA CALS for their work designing and implementing the website. 
 
 Access the Desert Landscaping website here


EVENTS

Brown Bag Seminar - Safe and Sustainable Wastewater Treatment and Reuse: In Theory and Reality



September 2, 2016 


Time/Location: 12:00 - 1:15 p.m. / WRRC Sol Resnick Conference Room (350 N. Campbell Ave.)    
 
Speaker: Grant Weinkam, Ph.D., Research Analysist, Water Resources Research Center  


Dr. Weinkam is an environmental specialist experienced working in aquatic (surface water, wastewater, drinking water, storm water), terrestrial (agricultural, urban, natural), and atmospheric systems. He is interested in applying physical, chemical, biological, and socioeconomic principles to better understand and control the fate, transport, and impact of contaminants in human and natural systems. 



Brown Bag Seminar - Groundwater

September 21, 2016



Time/Location:  12:00 - 1:15 p.m. / WRRC Sol Resnick Conference Room (350 N. Campbell Ave.)    
 
Speaker:  Laurel Lacher, Ph.D., Owner/Principal Lacher Hydrological Consulting 
 
Dr. Lacher's research and professional interests center on groundwater-surface water interactions. Balancing human needs for potable water with protection of fragile stream systems has become her key professional purpose.
Brown Bag Seminar - Dam Removal and River Restoration of the Elwha River, Washington: Lessons learned five years into the project
 
October 6, 2016 


Time/Location: 12:00 - 1:15 p.m. / WRRC Sol Resnick Conference Room (350 N. Campbell Ave.)



Speaker:  Chris Magirl, Ph.D.,  Studies Chief, USGS
 
With over 20 years of experience researching hydrology and fluid mechanics for both government and industry, Dr. Magirl has worked on fluvial geomorphology, sediment-transport, and river ecology issues throughout the western U.S. Before joining the USGS, Dr. Magirl was an R&D project manager and engineer for Hewlett-Packard. He has published over 50 peer-reviewed articles on geomorphology, hydrology, and engineering and holds 6 patents.
Seminar - Thirst for Power: Energy, Water & Human Survival
 
November 15, 2016


Time/Location: 4:00pm at the James E. Rogers College of Law, Room 168.  



Speaker:  Michael E. Webber, Ph.D.



Dr. Webber, a leader and teacher in the field of energy development and resources, explains how energy and water supplies are linked and how problems in either can be crippling for the other. 

 
**The UA Bookstore will host a book signing in the College of Law's courtyard following this event.** 
NEWS
Colorado River Briefing Presentations and Webinar Posted Online


A Colorado River Briefing was held by the Arizona Department of Water Resources (ADWR) and Central Arizona Project (CAP) on August 22 at ADWR and a number of satellite locations across the state. The WRRC hosted a satellite briefing in Tucson. The briefings were open to the public, who learned about the conditions of Lake Mead and Lake Powell, forecasting for the Colorado River, and the drought contingency plan currently being developed. Briefing presentations and webinar are posted on ADWR and CAP websites.
 
View the Colorado River Briefing presentations and/or webinar here (ADWR) and here (CAP) 




"Beyond the Mirage" Based "Filmstacker" Media Platform Licensed 
 
The University of Arizona has recently licensed a new social media and video platform, Filmstacker, developed by current and former members of the CALS Communications and Cyber Technologies team. A spinoff of the project to develop Beyond the Mirage, Filmstacker, allows users in educational settings to create, share, and discuss online mini-documentaries. Team video coordinator, Cody Sheehy, who led the development effort, describes Filmstacker as a fun and intuitive video app where users can develop their own adventures to share with others. 


To read the UANews article on Filmstacker click here

 
Join the "Beyond the Mirage" movement here, create your own documentary and share it with others  
WRRC Welcomes Research Analyst, Grant Weinkam, Ph.D.


The WRRC extends a warm welcome to Grant Weinkam, Ph.D. who was recently hired as a full-time Research Analyst for the Water RAPIDS program. Grant joins us from the University of Florida where he earned his Ph.D. in Environmental Engineering Sciences and also served as a research fellow in the University's Water Institute. Grant is a biologist, chemist, hydrologist, and all-around water enthusiast whose research has focused on how chemical and hydrologic principles can influence the protection of public health and ecological systems. Welcome Grant! 
Partnering Youth with Water in Nature
 
It's amazing what over six years of partnership has done for water education in Arizona. Together, APW and The Nature Conservancy (TNC) have reached over 30,000 students in the Phoenix area to teach them about the connection between water and the nature that lives in their backyards. This work is bolstered each year by the work of a TNC- sponsored Americorps Youth Outreach Education Coordinator who gains valuable skills in the field of water education while working alongside the TNC and APW teams in the office, field, and classroom. TNC has also welcomed hundreds of students to their Hassayampa River Preserve to conduct field investigations each year. Students learned how to conduct real science investigations in an area that most have never been to, despite its close proximity. After the field investigation, students leave with a new sense of nature and a passion for science.
 
Visit our website for more information on APW partnerships and programs.
"Growing with Water" Photo Contest 


Photographers of all skill levels, are encouraged to use their imaginations to capture the theme of "Growing with Water". Submissions can be in either urban or rural Arizona settings... flowers to farms, backyard and community gardens to vast agricultural fields, urban landscapes to mountain hideaways, it's up to you! Get creative with interesting photo perspectives, unique detail shots, fascinating vistas, and people in action.



The winning photographs will be featured in the Arizona Water Resource newsletter and at the 2017 WRRC Annual Conference. The winners will also be recognized at the February 2017 Chocolate Fest. Don't wait, entries need to be submitted by November 4, 2016
 
For more information about the photo contest click here

INSTITUTE OF THE ENVIRONMENT FALL FEST 2016: POSTER COMPETITION 


The IE Fall Fest will include a poster competition focused on environmentally themed research projects by grad students in  ALL departments. Abstracts must be submitted by midnight on September 5.



For more information, click here




2017 UNIVERSITIES COUNCIL ON WATER RESOURCES/NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF WATER RESOURCES CONFERENCE--CALL FOR SPECIAL SESSIONS 


The UCOWR/NIWR Conference Planning Committee, which is chaired by the WRRC's very own Sharon Megdal, invites proposals for Special Sessions on the conference topic, Water in a Changing Environment. Special sessions can be in the form of a panel discussion or a group of 4 or more oral presentations on a specific topic. Submissions should be sent directly to the Technical Program Chair, Kevin Wagner ([email protected]), by September 23, 2016.  This year's conference is being held at Colorado State University in Fort Collins, Colorado



For more information, click here
WATER RESOURCES RESEARCH CENTER


University of Arizona Water Resources Research Center | 350 N Campbell Ave | Tucson | AZ | 85721