University and Industry Consortium Meeting October 21, 2003 Sharon B. Megdal, Ph.D Associate Director Water Resources Research Center 350 N. Campbell Tucson, AZ 85721 520-792-9591, ext 21 fax [phone] email [e-mail]

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University and Industry Consortium
MeetingOctober 21, 2003Sharon B. Megdal,
Ph.DAssociate DirectorWater Resources Research
Center350 N. CampbellTucson, AZ
85721520-792-9591, ext 21fax [phone]email
smegdal_at_ag.arizona.edu
Securing Sustainable Water Supplies in Arizona
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Water 2025Crisis management is not an effective
solution for addressing long-term, systematic
water supply problems. Interior Secretary Gale
Norton
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Arizona is an arid state
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Arizona is rapidly growing, with a large
proportion of the population relying on
groundwater
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Sources of Water - 1998
One acre foot is 325,851 gallons of water. An
acre foot of water is the amount that covers one
acre of land with one foot deep water.
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Uses of Water - 1998
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To the place from which the rivers come, There
they return again. Ecclesiastes
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The Groundwater Management Act (GMA) of 1980

• Established areas where groundwater management
  was required Active Management Areas, each with
  a statutory management goal
• GMA required the adoption of Assured Water Supply
  Rules, which require growth to depend on
  renewable supplies.
• Conservation programs for each water using sector
  and management plans are developed by the Arizona
  Department of Water Resources every 10 years.

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Innovative Approach to Groundwater Management in
certain parts of the state
AMAs and INAs
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Importance of Renewable Supplies

• Salt River Project

• Central Arizona Project

Roosevelt Dam
Horseshoe Dam
Hoover Dam
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Policy Innovations

• Water some times not where it is needed spatially
  or in time
• Solution Storage and Recovery
• Underground Storage and Groundwater Savings
• Intrastate water banking
• Interstate water banking

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Underground Storage
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(No Transcript)
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Groundwater Savings Projects
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Arizona Water Banking Authority

• Established in 1996
• Purposes
• Use Arizonas Colorado River Water
• Storage for times of shortage or outages on the
  canal
• Groundwater Management
• Indian Settlements
• Very successful to date 1.6 million acre feet
  of water has been stored

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Interstate Banking
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AWBA Water Credits (AF)
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Effluent or Reclaimed Water Use
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Examples of Areas of Research

• The implications of long-term storage of surface
  water or effluent
• Use of effluent for potable water needs the
  next major new water source
• Recovery of stored water (intra and inter state)
• Water Transfers and Water Marketing
• Drought issues

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Examples of Areas of Research (cont.)

• What to do in the non-AMA areas
• Data
• Regulatory
• Financial
• Who does what?
• Private versus public
• Local versus state level

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Research done throughout campusArizona focus
through Water Sustainability Program

• Engineering Research Center for Environmentally
  Benign Semiconductor Manufacturing (ERC)
• Mission to create the science, technology, and
  educational methods to lead the semiconductor
  industry to a new era of environmentally benign
  manufacturing.

• Water Quality Center (WQC)
• Mission to conduct research that evaluates
  physical, chemical, and microbial processes that
  affect the quality of surface and subsurface
  waters utilized for potable supplies.

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Water Sustainability Program (cont)

• Center for the Sustainability of Arid and
  semi-Arid Riparian Areas (SAHRA)
• Mission to create the science, technology, and
  educational methods to lead the semiconductor
  industry to a new era of environmentally benign
  manufacturing.

• Water Resources Research Center (WRRC)
• Mission to provide statewide outreach and
  education focused on critical water issues
  affecting Arizona, and to provide expertise on
  state and regional water management and policy

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Concluding Remarks

• When the wells dry, we know the worth of water.
  Benjamin Franklin, Poor Richards Almanac, 1746

• The frog does not drink up the pond in which he
  lives. American Indian Proverb

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Questions/Comments