News

Mark your calendars — the WRRC 2026 Annual Conference will be held April 14–15, 2026. We are also tentatively planning to offer a pre-conference workshop, which may be held on the afternoon of Monday, April 13.

The WRRC congratulates former WRRC Graduate Research Associate Aminta Menjivar Maldonado, who completed her Doctor of Philosophy in American Indian Studies from the U of A in May 2025.

The final report for the Lower Santa Cruz River (LSCR) Basin Study is now available from the US Bureau of Reclamation. This long-awaited report offers critical insights into regional water sustainability in the face of municipal growth, insufficient infrastructure for transporting renewable water, and extended drought.

The US Geological Survey (USGS) Water Resources Research Act Program will soon release the request for proposals (RFP) on Grants.gov for two key programs: the National Competitive Grants (104g) General Program and the Aquatic Invasive Species (AIS) Program. RFP approval for a third program, the 104g PFAS Program, is still under review by the Office of Management and Budget.

The WRRC takes pleasure in helping to connect our readers with important water news throughout Arizona. When you receive your copy of the Weekly Wave or Summer Wave, don’t forget to check out the “Water News” section for updates from in and around the state.

The journal "Water" has issued a Call for Papers for a Special Issue titled Working Across Borders to Address Water Scarcity, which echoes the theme of the WRRC 2025 Annual Conference, Shared Borders, Shared Waters: Working Together in Times of Scarcity.

On June 12, 2025, the Sonoran Institute and Babbitt Center for Land and Water Policy held a Douglas-Agua Prieta "Growing Water Smart" workshop in Douglas, AZ, where participants from both sides of the border learned about regional efforts towards better management of their shared aquifer.

On June 3–5, 2025, WRRC Director Sharon B. Megdal and U of A Extension Specialist Debankur Sanyal participated in the 2025 Annual Water Resources Conference of the Universities Council on Water Resources (UCOWR) and National Institutes for Water Resources (NIWR), which was held in Minneapolis, MN.

Water is important to all living things. In arid regions where water is becoming increasingly scarce, a crucial step toward protecting this vital resource is increasing awareness. One way that the WRRC has extended its public reach is through our annual photo contest, which solicits photographs that we use to promote our events, programs, and publications to bring about more water awareness.