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February 2009 Newsletter
Table of Contents
Viewpoint: Foundation for the Future
One of the finest achievements of the Society over the last few years has been the establishment of the Arizona Hydrological Society Foundation. Getting the Foundation going took a lot of hard work, and folks like Mike Geddis, Mike Block, and Howard Grahn of the Tucson Chapter did the heavy lifting. You can see the Foundation’s basic documents at www.azcc.gov under “Corporations”.
The first donor was Hermann Bouwer, one of the original founders of AHS and a winner of our Lifetime Achievement Award. Hermann was the awarded the 2005 Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz International Prize for Water for his work in ground water recharge. His donation to the Foundation from the proceeds became our financial base and the start of a great tradition. A chunk of the AHS annual budget goes to the Foundation; this year we are moving $10,000 over to start with. That transfer should be as important as our Chapter subsidies. Over the last two years more than 60 individual and corporate donors have stepped forward to join AHS in funding our Foundation. We owe all donors our thanks.
The people who give to the Foundation are visionaries—they can look forward in time and recognize that the need for support for education in hydrology and water resources will only continue to grow. Without trained hydrologists, the future of our water supply in the semi-arid Southwest will be clouded. Without hydrological input, decision-makers will be unaware of the adverse consequences of how they deal with water. Bad decisions in water resources can have a cumulative effect, making things worse over time. As an example, look at Arizona’s legal distinction between surface and ground water. The court decisions that were made decades ago, without hydrologic input, broke up one inter-related natural system into an artificially bifurcated regulatory clunker.
The Foundation is the way to reach to the future, to ensure that support for education in hydrology and water-related sciences continues for this century and beyond. It is an important function for AHS, and the Foundation is our collective instrument. The Foundation thrives on tax-deductible donations, and AHS and hydrology along with it. I invite your participation as an individual and an organization in building the Foundation into a solid supporter of students and educational activities.
After all, that’s what we are ultimately concerned with in the water world: the future.
Alan Dulaney,
AHS Corporate Board President, 2009
February Dinner Meeting
Our next dinner meeting will be held February 10th when Keith Ross from Hydro Geo Chem, Inc. will discuss passive soil gas surveys. Finding potential sources (historical and current) for identified groundwater contamination is essential to successful remediation. However, finding potential sources is sometimes difficult and costly. By using passive soil gas surveys as a screening tool, the process (and cost) of identifying potential sources is greatly simplified. This allows for both a more focused characterization and a better chance of getting the potential source’s responsible party (PRP) on board to cleanup the contamination (on their dime). On February 10th, two preliminary investigations case studies will be presented showing the results of potential source identification using passive soil gas surveys.
Please join us Feb. 10th at El Penasco at Mill & Broadway in Tempe. Hope to see you there!
Location: El Penasco Mexican Kitchen
19 E. Broadway Road
Tempe, AZ 85282
Speaker: Keith Ross – Using Passive Soil Gas Surveys for Preliminary Source Identification (The Bull’s-eye Approach)
Chapter Board Meeting: 5:00 PM – 5:40 PM
Happy Hour & Dinner: 5:45 PM – 7:00 PM
Dinner Speaker: 7:00 PM – 8:00 PM
Cost: $15 member, $20 non-member, $5 student
RSVP with Kirk Creswick at kcreswick@eecphx.com or 602-248-7702.
Kickoff Meeting Summary
The Phoenix Chapter held a great annual kickoff on Thursday January 15th at the Sonora Brewhouse on Camelback Road. Over thirty folks came to enjoy a great evening of food, beverage, and conversation about AHS and the upcoming 2009 activities in the Phoenix Chapter. We saw a few new faces and reconnected with a few old faces too. The venue was so excellent, it was decided to hold the July meeting back at the Sonora Brewhouse to give those who couldn’t make it another chance to try the Arizona microbrew and travel the light rail. Thanks to all who came. Thanks to those who stepped forward to help out with the chapter plans in 2009! We look forward to working with you this year and many years to come.
Nick Melcher Brown Bag Summary
Over a brown bag lunch on Jan. 27th, a diverse group of about 40 met for peanut butter sandwiches and carrot sticks to hear AHS Executive Director talk about communicating scientific information to policy makers. Nick pointed out the different styles and biases of scientists and policy makers. Contrasts were drawn between the two groups. For example, Nick noted that scientists tend to see the world and their work as a continuum with small steps moving forward and building on one another. Alternatively, policy makers are interested in outcomes and the broad implications of scientific results. Finally, Nick provided potential remedies to each group for better communication with one another. He admonished scientists to learn more about the context of their science and start their presentations with a simple foundation of that context at a level appropriate to the audience. He further suggested that scientists seak general audience review of their reports before finalizing them. For policy makers, Nick suggested that they recognize the nature of the scientific process (e.g, the incremental nature of science), that they interrupt and ask questions, and not to force scientists into giving yes-or-no answers. After Nick’s presentation questions and stories regarding the challenges and pitfalls of talking tech with the public and politicians were shared.
The Phoenix Chapter would like to thank Nancy Crocker and the UA Cooperative Extension for organizing and hosting this brown bag lunch. Look for more water related brown bag talks at the Extension office in the coming months. We’d also like to thank Nick for coming up to Phoenix to share his talk and hard-earned wisdom with our group.
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January 26th – Call for Abstracts, 2009 Annual Symposium
It’s official! Abstracts are being accepted for the 2009 Annual Symposium. Get your talk or poster abstract in early and begin you commitment to attend another great AHS event. We have room for dozens of technical presentations and posters. Presenters and their presentations are the central component of every Annual Symposium. So, come be a central part of the action. Show off your work, yourself, and your firm. This is an excellent chance to remind the water community about your expertise and mine new clients interested in the kind of work you do. If that’s not enough, we will have a published volume of the proceedings this year. So if you’re looking to add to your vita or just love the idea of seeing you name in print, here’s a great chance! Abstracts can be submitted online and will be accepted until March 27th.
2009 AHS Annual Symposium Sponsors Sought
The 2009 Symposium, “Managing Hydrologic Extremes”, will be held at The Westin Kierland Resort & Spa August 30 through September 2,, 2009 in Scottsdale. The event will be a joint symposium with the 2009 national conference of the American Institute of Hydrology (AIH). Thanks to our volunteers we already have several pledged sponsors! Our thanks to:
- Freeport McMoRan,
- ACS,
- ACZ Laboratories
- Clear Creek Associates,
- Columbia Analytical Services,
- EEC,
- E.L. Montgomery & Associates
- Golder & Associates
- & Southwest Hydrology.
We look forward to helping you help us promote your firms and the 2009 Symposium. Take a look at the exhibitor hall setup below. See where you would like to set up your both and market new clients in Scottsdale. Reserve your space now and let everyone know you are supporting another outstanding AHS event.
Please contact Mike Hulst, EEC, at 602-248-7702 or mhulst@eecphx.com or Keith Ross, Hydro Geo Chem, at 480-421-1501 or keithr@hgcinc.com and ask for a sponsorship package.
More information is also available at our website, www.azhydrosoc.org or www.hydrosymposium.org . Check it out! I think you’ll be impressed.
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Planning for 2009 Symposium continues, Feb. 18th at Hydro Geo Chem
Planning for the 2009 AHS Symposium continues and we will be meeting regularly to hammer out details of program, speakers, sponsorship, marketing, proceedings, workshops, field trips, etc. The next planning meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, Feb. 18th at 5 PM at the offices of Hydro Geo Chem (6370 E. Thomas Rd, Ste 200
Scottsdale, AZ). We have a great group already, but we can definitely use more help. If you are interested in helping with the planning process or just listening in, please contact Keith Ross at keithr@hgcinc.com or 480-421-1501, Lee-Anna Walker at LeeAnna.Walker@arcadis-us.com, Christie O’Day at coday@acstempe.com or 480-894-5477 or Ted Lehman at ted@jefuller.com or 480-222-5709. We’d love to have you and we can really use your help.
Herman Bouwer Internship Program
This year marks the 10th year the Phoenix Chapter will solicit applications for the Herman Bouwer Internship Program! The Herman Bouwer Intern Scholarship gives students enrolled in a hydrology-related discipline at any Arizona college or university the opportunity to gain practical experience in the multidisciplinary field of hydrology and water resources. This scholarship acknowledges the extensive contributions of Dr. Bouwer to the science of hydrology and to the AHS.
Recipients are chosen after a rigorous selection process and serve their internship with employers in the Phoenix area. The Intern is required to complete 320 hours of service with three organizations of his or her choice in government, private industry, and environmental, and water-resources consulting. The employer organizations provide a meaningful training experience that will better prepare the intern for employment in their chosen career goals. A $4,800 monetary scholarship is included as part of the award.
The application deadline is March 16, 2009. Check out the AHS website for if you would like more information about the Herman Bouwer Intern Scholarship Program and to download an application form.
Event Calendar (see also calendar on www.azhydrosoc.org)
- February 10th – Keith Ross, Hydro Geo Chem, Using Passive Soil Gas Surveys for Preliminary Source Identification (The Bull’s-eye Approach)
- Feb 24th – Kristine Uhlman, Where Does Your Water Come From?, UA Coop Extension Office, noon, Brown Bag Water Speaker Series
- March 10th – Dr. Abe Springer, NAU, & Steve Flora, ADWR, Aridland Springs of Western North America: Diverse yet Abused
- March 16th – Application deadline for Herman Bouwer Internship Program
- March 21-24 – Arizona Science & Engineering Fair (AzSEF), Phoenix Convention Center
- March 24th – Channah Rock, Water Recycling and Reuse, UA Coop Extension Office, noon, Brown Bag Water Speaker Series
- April 2nd – AEG/AHS Student Night, Career Fair & Student Presentation Competition, UA Student Union
- April 14th – Stan Leake, USGS,
- April 27 – 30 – Parameter Estimation (PEST) Workshop, ADWR
- Aug. 30- Sept. 2, 2009 – Managing Hydrologic Extremes, Joint Symposium of AHS & AIH, Westin Kierland Resort & Spa, Scottsdale, AZ
Webmaster Report
This month I wanted to highlight the AHS web page's calendar feature.
When your visit the calendar page (http://www.azhydrosoc.org/calendar.html), you will notice that it is a Google Calendar embedded within the web page. Although the default setting is set to view the calendar in a "monthly" view, you can also change it to a "weekly" or an "agenda" view. Just click the appropriate tab in the upper right hand corner. Once you are happy with the calendar setup, feel free to peruse the meetings, activities, deadlines, etc. by clicking on the scheduled AHS activity. This will open a pop-up window with more details about the activity such as location and directions, contacts, or links to follow, which have more information.
What did you say? You don't have time to visit the AHS calendar everyday? Well, we wanted to let you know that we have made the AHS Google Calendar available as a public calendar that allows you to subscribe to it. That way you can see it in your own calendar software such as Outlook 2007, iCal, or your own Google Calendar Account. With this subscription you can see the AHS scheduled events as a separate colored layer mixed in with your own activities. Once subscribed to within your own calendar application, you can then set properties for the calendar events to email or pop-up reminders as these events approach.
For instructions on how to subscribe to the AHS Calendar, visit http://www.azhydrosoc.org/calendar.html. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Matt Beversdorf at azhydrosoc.web@gmail.com .
AHS Tucson Chapter February Meeting Announcement
Location: Offices of Errol L. Montgomery and Associates, Inc
1550 E Prince Rd
Tucson, AZ 85719
Date: Tuesday, February 10th 2009, 6:00 pm
Social half-hour begins at 6:00 pm; Talk begins at 6:30
Food and beverages provided
Speaker: Lisa Shipek, Watershed Management Group, Tucson AZ
Abstract: The presentation will include an introduction to Watershed Management Group (WMG) and its programs along with a focus on water harvesting practices and opportunities to get involved with WMG. Many of WMG’s programs teach water harvesting practices to Tucson residents for application with individual homeowners, schools, neighborhoods, and businesses. Pictures and explanation of water harvesting will include passive rainwater harvesting for landscapes and neighborhood streets, cisterns, and greywater systems.
Biography: Lisa Shipek is the Executive Director of Watershed Management Group (WMG), a non-profit organization based in Tucson, whose mission is to improve people’s lives through grassroots projects that integrate community development and conservation. Lisa focuses on developing projects that involve collaborative learning, building community knowledge and pride, and enhancing natural resources. Serving as director of WMG for the last 2 and half years, she has developed a number of educational programs for homeowners, neighborhoods, schools, and businesses to teach resource management practices such as water harvesting, neighborhood best management practices for stormwater, and sustainable landscaping. Of particular interest to Lisa is creating programs that are assessable and engaging to low-income and disadvantaged communities. She believes that by sparking a connection between people and the environment, you can improve people’s health, reduce crime, beautify urban landscapes, and build community. Lisa has a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Science from Principia College and Masters in Latin American Studies with a focus on community water management from the University of Arizona.
March Meeting and Book Signing Annoucment
Bob Webb, of the USGS, will be speaking at meeting held on March 10th, 2009. A book signing for A Ribbon of Green will begin at 6:00 pm. This is your chance to own a signed copy of this wonderful book! This meeting will break from our usual format. It will be held at a yet to be determined venue. A formal dinner will be served. Details to follow. Mark your calendar for this memorable event.
January Meeting Summary
Author: Marla Odom
Stan Leake of the USGS presented his talk titled "Use of Groundwater Models to Map Potential Capture of Surface Water by Groundwater Withdrawals" to a packed house at the offices of Errol L. Montgomery & Associates, Inc. The meeting was one of the most well attended presentations the Tucson Chapter has ever had, with a total of 44 attendees representing consultants, private water companies, City, State and Federal government agencies, and the University of Arizona.
Stan's talk provided two definitions of capture, and explained how the timing of capture depends on aquifer diffusivity and distance to connected surface water features. His methodology looks at capture at a point in time to help people understand timing-distance relationships. Mapping capture is important for the management of groundwater resources, resource regulation, and education and understanding of resource response.
Stan's method starts with a well-constructed groundwater model including head dependent boundaries, which is run in steady state to establish flow through the boundaries. A pumping rate and observation time is selected, and the model is run repeatedly, with the well re-located for each new run. Some maps take thousands of runs to establish capture areas. Capture is computed as total increased inflow and decreased outflow in the model. Resulting values from each model run are saved and then contoured into a map of high capture zones at a point in time. Stan also demonstrated that vertical hydraulic conductivity placement within the model can significantly affect capture.
The maps are useful for determining overall areas that will cause the least amount of streamflow capture if a new well is introduced. Several case studies were provided, including the San Pedro River, Arizona, Paradise Valley, Nevada, the Upper Deschutes Basin, Oregon, and Kalamazoo, Michigan.
USGS publications covering Stan's work can be found at the following websites:
http://pubs.usgs.gov/sir/2008/5189/
http://pubs.usgs.gov/sir/2008/5207/
2010 Symposium Planning Committee
Congratulations to Kate Duke and Jeff Gawad for being named co-chairs of the planning committee for the 2010 symposium! We are in the process of selecting a venue, and will be deciding on a theme soon.
Now is your chance to get involved if you would like to include your input in planning the symposium. Please contact Kate Duke (kduke@elmontgomery.com) or Jeff Gawad (jgawad@elmontgomery.com) if you would like to get involved. Any help is greatly appreciated!
Hydrology and Water Resources October Seminar Schedule
Date: 2/4/2009
Location: Marley, Room 230
Title: Global Change Impacts on Chihuahuan Desert Ecosystems
Speaker: Scott Collins, University of New Mexico, Sevilleta LTER
Date: 2/11/2009
Location: Harshbarger Bldg, Room 206
Title: "Anomalous" Subsurface Fluid Pressures: Maybe not so Anomalous!
Speaker: Chris Neuzil, USGS
Date: 2/19/2009
Location: Phys-Atmo Bldg, Room 224
Title: On the Theory Relating Changes in Area-Average and Pan Evaporation
Speaker: Jim Shuttleworth, HWR and Atmo. Sciences, University of Arizona
Date: 2/25/2009
Location: Harshbarger Bldg, Room 206
Title: Sedimentary Basins as Chemical Reactors
Speaker: Jeff Hanor, Louisiana State University
http://hwr.arizona.edu/calendar/Seminars/Seminars%202008/HWR%20%20Fall%202007%20Schedule%20-%202.htm
Tucson HydroNews
Water-service exception possible
Homes near Saguaro Park could benefit from 'grandfathered' rules, officials say
By Tony Davis
Arizona Daily Star
Tucson, Arizona | Published: 01.18.2009
A neighborhood near Saguaro National Park West may be on the verge of winning Tucson Water delivery, despite a year-old city policy not to extend water lines outside the existing service area.
If city water does come to 54 lots near Camino del Cerro just east of the national park, it will be the first exception to City Manager Mike Hein's no-extension policy since he announced it at a December 2007 City Council meeting.
Residents say that will end several years of hardship, including sputtering wells that forced some to haul in water themselves, while others delayed building homes on their lots.
40 UA degree programs could be cut
By Aaron Mackey
Arizona Daily Star
Tucson, Arizona | Published: 01.17.2009
More than 40 degree programs at the University of Arizona are in danger of being eliminated after a report released this week labeled them unproductive.
Other engineering programs mentioned in the report, such as hydrology, it might be possible to modify more popular programs to include emphasis in areas that might still have a need but be less popular.
http://www.azstarnet.com/allheadlines/276348.php
Health alert issued on water toxin
Chicago Tribune
Tucson, Arizona | Published: 01.16.2009
CHICAGO — Less than a week before the Bush administration leaves office, federal environmental regulators are issuing a controversial health advisory on drinking water contaminated with a toxic chemical used to make Teflon and other non-stick coatings.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is advising people to reduce consumption of water containing more than 0.4 parts per billion of perfluorooctanoic acid, or PFOA — a level critics say is too weak. Studies have shown the chemical, which is linked to cancer, liver damage and birth defects, has built up in human blood throughout the world.
http://www.azstarnet.com/allheadlines/276131.php
Water rates likely to go up in Marana
By Shelley Shelton
Arizona Daily Star
Tucson, Arizona | Published: 01.29.2009
Marana's water rates are likely going up, and it may soon be a crime to leave a child under 10 alone in a vehicle within the town limits.
The Marana Town Council agreed last week to hold a Feb. 20 public hearing on the water rate increase, although they might change that date to Feb. 24 at next week's council meeting.
The town wants its water utility to eventually become its own independent entity. Currently, it gets a chunk of money from the town's general fund to help cover the administrative aspects of running the utility, including human resources and billing.
http://www.azstarnet.com/allheadlines/277682.php
Tucson Water's gap put at $15.4M
Projected shortfall is linked to conservation, economy
By Tony Davis
Arizona Daily Star
Tucson, Arizona | Published: 01.26.2009
Tucson Water's 733,000 customers are conserving so well that they've put the water utility into a financial hole.
The city water department expects to run $15.4 million short, compared with revenue projections for fiscal year 2008-09, which ends June 30.
That's largely because water sales to homes, apartments, businesses and other customers are well below those of a year ago. City officials attribute the 6 percent decline this fiscal year to the recession and to continued concerns about drought and water conservation. As growth and development have slowed, the city is also getting less revenue than expected from new water hookup fees and other fees.
http://www.azstarnet.com/allheadlines/277427.php
Asarco's Mission mine complex now using CAP, saving groundwater
By Gabriela Rico
Arizona Daily Star
Tucson, Arizona | Published: 01.24.2009
Asarco LLC will leave more than 3.2 billion gallons of water in the ground each year now that it has switched part of its Mission mine operations to Colorado River water.
The Tucson copper producer made the change from groundwater to Central Arizona Project river water last week.
Pumped from the Black Mountain Operating Reservoir, the water flows into Asarco's new pumping station on the Mission property, just west of Interstate 19 near Sahuarita.
It pumps between 2,700 and 4,700 gallons a minute to the mine's two mills and satisfies about 80 percent of the operation's water needs, said John D. Low, Asarco's vice president of mining operations.
16-inch water main breaks; Fairview Ave. remains closed
Arizona Daily Star
Tucson, Arizona | Published: 01.22.2009
A water-main break on the North Side has shut down North Fairview Avenue between West Prince Road and West Miracle Mile for the next several days.
Tucson Water workers will have to dig up the street to replace at least 50 feet of the water line in each direction, said Mitch Basefsky, a Tucson Water spokesman.
Basefsky said he did not know how many days it would take before the street could be reopened.
The 16-inch main break was likely caused by an old pipe that failed, Basefsky said.
The break created a 20-by-30-foot hole and service has since been shut down to pump the water out of the hole and make repairs, Basefsky said.
Motorists are advised to avoid the area. No Tucson Water customers were affected by the break.
Flagstaff Chapter News
The next Flagstaff Chapter meeting will be February 11, 2009, at the Weatherfrod Hotel Mezzanine at 6 pm. Agenda items for the meeting will include Chapter funding and planned field trips for 2009.
In Memoriam,
On Friday, January 23, two of Arizona’s finest water professionals perished in a private plane crash just outside of Flagstaff. Frank Protiva and Thomas Moody had just departed the Flagstaff airport on an early morning flight to Yuma when their craft reportedly had engine trouble. Frank Protiva was the principal owner of Shephard Wesnitzer, a Flagstaff civil engineering and surveying company. Tom Moody was a principal at Natural Channel Design in Flagstaff. Frank and Tom worked closely together on a number of Arizona stream and riparian area restoration projects and were active members of their community, as well as avid river runners. During the 2005 Flagstaff Symposium, Frank assisted with the preparation and presentation of the six water-provider panel members. Tom Moody lead the Stream Restoration workshop during the 2006 Phoenix Symposium.
Frank and Tom are remembered for their brilliance and untiring energy towards their respective professions and their warm caring attitudes and easy smiles. Both men will be greatly missed in the tightly-knit northern Arizona water community.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Utah Back Country Pilots, Sky Park Airport, 1887 S. Redwood Road #16, Woodscross, UT 84087. Condolences can be sent to www.norvelowensmortuary.com.
Franklin R. Protiva (Arizona Daily Sun accessed 1/29/09: http://www.azdailysun.com/articles/2009/01/26/news/obituaries/20090126_obitu_189701.txt)
Thomas Oakley Moody (Arizona Daily Sun accessed 1/29/09 http://www.azdailysun.com/articles/2009/01/28/news/obituaries/20090128_obitu_189839.txt)
For more information about the Arizona Hydrological Society, or to view current job listings and announcements, please visit our web site at:
Your membership may be renewed for 2009 by credit card through the AHS website at http://www.azhydrosoc.org/ or by mailing a check to the Arizona Hydrological Society, PO Box 32898, Tucson, Arizona, 85751. Dues remain at $45.00 year for regular membership and $15.00 for students. Thank you all for a great 2008 and for your continuing support in 2009. For those who attended the 2008 Flagstaff Symposium, be reminded that membership dues for 2009 were included in the registration fee.