WRRC Director Featured Live on “Discover Extension”
Julie Murphree, Strategic Communications Director at Arizona Farm Bureau, interviewed WRRC Director Sharon B. Megdal on Friday, October 24, 2025, via Instagram Live for AZ Farm Bureau’s “Discover Extension” interview series. In partnership with the U of A Cooperative Extension, these videos seek to highlight the work being done by extension specialists, with the purpose of showcasing the importance and impact of Cooperative Extension programs across the state. They also strive to make issues related to agriculture more understandable to the Gen Z (individuals born between approximately 1997 and 2012) audience.
During the live interview, Megdal provided some context about Arizona’s water challenges, noting that water is taken for granted by many southern Arizonans. Local water providers ensure that homes have ready access to good quality water, so many people rely on this water supply with little to no awareness of the challenges our water-scarce region is facing. Megdal went on to highlight some less-obvious ways that water is embedded in our daily lives, such as for the production of food, the mining of copper used to make car parts, and the fabrication of cell phone chips. She urged listeners to be more water conscious, to consider water harvesting, and to find additional ways to decrease their individual water footprint, including selecting products that require less water to manufacture. In answer to Murphree’s question about what water would communicate if it could direct message her, Megdal responded, “Keep me clean. Don’t pollute me and don’t waste me or overuse me or abuse me. Treat me with care. Use me with care.”
Megdal also gave an overview of what the WRRC does, explaining that we do our best to provide valuable resources to the public, including the production of our annual Arroyo publication, which is free and geared toward a general audience, and our statewide, county-specific Arizona Water Factsheets, among other things. Murphree expressed her appreciation for WRRC’s water factsheets, which provide a comprehensive, well-researched overview of the water use and challenges facing every Arizona county.