The University of Arizona

Water

Challenge

The Southwest is the most arid, fastest growing region of the United States. Our 21st-century economy and shifting sociodemographics have created new demands for water, even as drought, changing land use, and climate change threaten our water supplies. Our challenge is to help water managers achieve safe, sustainable water supplies in the face of growth and supply uncertainties, without compromising our quality of life.

Goals

  • To create new and improved understanding of the complex interactions between physical, biological, economic, and human factors in semi-arid hydrology through research, community outreach, and public education.
  • To engage in effective outreach to water professionals, elected officials, and scientists so that these new scientific understandings are effectively applied to the management of water resources and to the rational implementation of public policy.
  • To raise the hydrologic literacy of teachers, students and the general public to encourage more scientifically informed choices
  • To educate a new and diverse generation of water professionals who can approach water issues from a multidisciplinary and basin-scale perspective and communicate effectively with others.

Conservation


Water Harvesting


Water Quality


Reuse/Recycle


Water-Energy Nexus

Moving and treating water consumes energy, and producing energy nearly always consumes water: the two are tightly linked. The good news is that conservation of one results in savings of the other as well.

By understanding how much water is required to produce various kinds of energy, we can move toward more water-efficient energy production. In turn, recognizing how much energy is needed for various components of our water systems will help us identify opportunities for greater efficiency.

A recent issue of Southwest Hydrology, a UA publication, explores both sides of the water/energy nexus: