Friday, April 26th is Arbor Day, a special day set aside to encourage the planting and proper care of trees. It has been 147 years since J. Sterling Morton founded Arbor Day. His simple idea of setting aside a special day for tree planting is now more important than ever. The 1st official Arbor Day was created by Morton and …
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Water is a serious subject in Arizona. The availability and quality of our water supply is critical to our quality of life and our state’s status as a world-class destination. That’s why this essential and precious resource was recognized by Arizona’s governor in 2008 with an Executive Order that designates April as Water Awareness Month. Now in its tenth year, …
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There’s so much to know about our H2O! Where does it come from and how does it get into our homes? How is it cleaned before we drink it? Which laws protect it? What other benefits does it offer besides public health and fire protection? We’ll get to these important topics in a minute. But first, we have a test …
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A fractured skull and a bullet lodged in the side would be enough to take down most men, but Jack Swilling wasn’t like most men. One of Arizona’s most colorful characters, Jack had a disposition that varied based upon who you talked to and the amount of opiate-laced painkiller he drank. Family members considered him a loving father, friends thought …
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When we think of wastewater, we usually think of sewage. However, it is also comprised of any used domestic water produced from showers, disposals, washers, and sinks. Furthermore, wastewater can include any used water and water-carried solids from a community that flows to a treatment plant, such as stormwater, surface water, and industrial water. Fact: 99 percent of wastewater is …
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Last April, I had my Water – Use It Wisely table set up on the back patio of a community center for an Earth Day event. A mom and her two young children were walking by and I heard the older one, about four years old, say, “Hey Mom, look, there’s a hummingbird on that tree.” I was shocked but …
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Who owns water? What does the future of water look like in Arizona? Does water have a different meaning in Arizona than it does in other places? The answers to those questions are not easy and the details change depending on where you go across the state. Arizonans are invited to explore these issues at Water/Ways, a Smithsonian Museum on …
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Some 4,000 years ago, ancestors of the Hohokam people settled at the base of (what is now known as) Tucson’s A Mountain on the banks of the Santa Cruz river. At that time, the river flowed year-round and supported lush woodlands of cottonwood, willow, and mesquite. These people created an extensive system of irrigation canals, supporting an agricultural society that lasted thousands of years. …
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A piece of sculpture at a public intersection was once considered public art. Things have changed. Public art has become more of an event, such as a community mural designed and painted through a partnership between an artist and neighbors. The City of Mesa has taken this idea to sophisticated levels. It is a city that knows how to pair artists …
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On September 30, 1968, President Lyndon B. Johnson, signed into law the Colorado River Basin Project Act. Fifty years is a long time, especially to those who have lived that long, but to understand the impact of the Colorado River Basin Project Act, I actually think you need to look back even further to a story that began almost exactly …
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The City of Goodyear, Arizona owns and operates the largest reverse osmosis (R/O) system dedicated to producing drinking water within Arizona. This system generates 4.5 million gallons per day (MGD) of R/O water. The downside to being able to produce this clean source of drinking water is that it also generates nearly 1.0 MGD of brine that is chemically impacting …
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The desert cities in Central Arizona have withstood 22 years of ongoing drought without imposing emergency conservation measures, such as those California ordered in 2015. Much of the credit goes to a groundbreaking piece of legislation called the Arizona Groundwater Management Act. The 37-year-old law is responsible for Arizona’s reputation as a leader in water management. The true story of …
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