1. Arizona Hopes For More Control Of Its Water As Drought Deepens In West June 2, 2015. Arizona wants more control of its water resources as the ongoing drought in Western states brings the likelihood of further shortages to the region, a state official testified Tuesday.
Tom Buschatzke, the director of the Arizona Department of Water Resources, also told a Senate committee that any solution to the region’s water woes should “benefit the entire Colorado River system rather than any one particular Colorado River water user.”
“Arizona already takes the lion’s share of shortages and it is clear there is an increasing risk of deeper shortages on the river,” Buschatzke said.
He was one of several witnesses testifying Tuesday to the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources on the drought that has gripped the West and the steps that state and local governments are taking to respond.
Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, said the drought is being felt most acutely in California, where mandatory water restrictions were recently enforced. But she said that drought “has been a fact of life for 15 years” for the 40 million people in seven states in the Colorado River Basin.
That affects everything from agriculture to business to residents who rely on water from the river and its lakes.
“The strains are starting to show – most notably at Lake Mead, where lake levels have fallen 130 feet in the last 15 years,” said Murkowski, the committee chairman, in her opening statement. “At the current rate, in the next few years, users in Arizona and elsewhere could see reductions in their state allocations under the Colorado River Compact,” she said.
2. 19th Annual AZ Water
Water For People Golf Tournament
June 27, 2015 *** Troon North Golf Course
HELP US HELP WATER FOR PEOPLE!
AZ Water’s 19th Annual Water For People Golf Tournament is now less than one month away. Have we heard from you? If not, time is running out. Don’t miss this opportunity to show your support for Water For People in 2015. This year’s event is an encore presentation at the prestigious Troon North Golf Club in Scottsdale, on June 27, 2015.
We hope you will continue your generous support. A number of sponsorship opportunities are available. Click here to choose a sponsorship level and register a foursome. A flyer with the costs and benefits of sponsorship are also online. You can make your investment in clean water by credit card or download a registration form and invest by check. Purchase orders are accepted. Have a question, email us at azwfpgolf@cox.net.
Water For People is an innovative and dynamic organization that dares to think outside the box with an audacious goal of “Everyone, Forever”. The “Everyone, Forever” model is literally transforming the development sector. Every household, every school, every clinic in a district is included. Forever! Not for six months until a pump breaks down. Not one year when the repair costs of a neglected system is too much for a community to bear and they must suffer the indignity of putting their hands out for aid from another development agency. Help us help Water For People fi ght water poverty. Everyone should have safe, clean water and adequate sanitation; Forever!
AZ Water Association
1042 Willow Creek Road, A101-510, Prescott, Arizona 86301
Phone: 928-717-9905
3. Lunch and Learn. Green Chamber 10 Jun 2015 at 12:00 PM Squire Patton Boggs (US) LLP 1 E. Washington St., Suite 2700 Phoenix, Arizona 3
Learn how to Move Phoenix!
Guest speaker City Councilwoman Kate Gallego speaking on the MovePhx August ballot measure to expand light rail, bus service and bike lanes throughout the city. Come learn about the exciting plans to Move Phoenix and how this will help residents and businesses alike! http://movephx.org/ Register early – space is limited. Our program will begin promptly at 12:00. Please arrive at 11:30 – 11:45 to network. Admission includes a Chinese food lunch. Squire Patton Boggs, 1 E Eashington St Ste 2700, Phoenix
4. Many Americans Support Equal Rights for Animals. Nearly one-third of Americans believe animals should have the same rights as people, a recent poll finds.
Thirty-two percent of the people surveyed believe animals and humans should have equal rights, up from 25 percent in 2008. Another 62 percent believe animals deserve some protection from harm and exploitation, but it is “still appropriate to use them for the benefit of humans.” Only 3 percent believe animals don’t require protection from harm and exploitation “since they are just animals,” according to the poll.
Gallup interviewed a random sample of more than 1,000 people across the United States on May 6 to 10, 2015. About half of those surveyed were asked about the protection of animals, while the other half were surveyed about the treatment of animals in various settings. The poll’s margin of sampling error was 5 percentage points.
Across all demographic groups, an increasing fraction of people support equal rights for animals, although women were more likely than men to have this view, the poll found. About 42 percent of the women polled supported full animal equality in 2015, compared with 22 percent of men. However, the percentage of men and women who support this view has increased by about the same amount since 2008 — from 35 percent to 42 percent for women, and 14 percent to 22 percent for men.
In addition, Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents were more likely than their Republican counterparts to support complete animal equality. About 39 percent of liberal-leaning people supported that view this year, compared with 23 percent of conservative-leaning people. But the number of both Democrats and Republicans who support animal equality has increased since the last poll, according to Gallup.
Gallup also asked Americans how they felt about the treatment of animals in different settings. About 33 percent of people said they were “very concerned” about the use of animals in research, compared with 21 percent who were very concerned about zoo animals. About two-thirds of people said they were “very or somewhat” concerned about animals in the circus; in competitive animal sports or contests; or in research. About 46 percent of people said they were very or somewhat concerned about the treatment of household pets.
The increasing concern for animals can be seen, for example, in the recent court case where animal-rights advocates sought personhood for chimpanzees. The Nonhuman Rights Project has argued for a writ of habeas corpus — a court order to prevent unreasonable detention — to free a pet chimpanzee named Tommy being kept in a cage in upstate New York.
Meanwhile, views on the treatment of marine or farm animals may have been influenced by popular documentaries such as “Blackfi sh” and “Food, Inc.,” which sought to expose truths about the treatment of whales at SeaWorld and of farm animals raised for consumption, respectively.
Concerns about the treatment of pets may reflect campaigns to stop cruelty toward these animals by organizations such as the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
Source: http://www.livescience.com/50889-animal-rights-poll.html?cmpid=NL_LS_weekly_2015-05-22
5. FREE Asbestos Seminar
Come meet, share a meal and learn the basics from ADEQ inspectors and instructors from The Asbestos Institute.
Flagstaff, AZ June 19, 2015 9:00am – 4:00pm
Location:
City Hall – Council Chambers 211 W. Aspen Ave. Flagstaff, Arizona 86001
So that we can arrange for food, please register on-line at www.eia-az.org or call (602) 864-6564
In Arizona, Buschatzke said, more than 85 percent of the state currently ranges from “abnormally dry” to “severe drought” conditions.
He said that drought conditions are nothing new to Arizona, a desert state where residents have long known the value of water – and planned for it.
He cited a dozen projects stretching back a century, but focused on the Groundwater Management Act of 1980 that put “aggressive” restrictions on farming, new homebuilding and municipal water systems, among other changes.
That act, passed at a time when the state was drawing groundwater at an unsustainable rate, has reduced Arizona’s dependence on groundwater from 53 percent of overall consumption in 1980 to 40 percent today, he said.
The state later approved the Underground Storage and Recovery program, which has led to the storage of millions of acre-feet of water underground.
But the ongoing drought is challenging those gains, he said.
“Drought on the Colorado River is at the top of our list of challenges,” he said.
If water levels in Lake Mead fall below an elevation 1,075 feet, it requires a declaration by the federal government of a Tier 1shortage on the river which, in turn, triggers a reduction in the amount of water states can draw from the river.
For Arizona, a Tier 1 shortage would mean the loss of 320,000 of its annual 2.8 million acre-feet allocation of the river’s water, he said.
Unless there is a change in drought conditions, current forecasts say there is a 33 percent chance of a Tier 1 shortage in 2016 and a 75 percent chance in 2017.
“It is important to note that a Tier 1 shortage triggers reductions for Arizona, Nevada, and the Republic of Mexico, but not for California,” Buschatzke testified. He said Arizona “shoulders the brunt of the shortages” in the region.
Deputy Interior Secretary Michael Connor told the committee that his department is working with states on short, medium and long-term solutions to the drought crisis. In addition to water releases and water management, he reeled off hundreds of millions of dollars worth of grants and improvements aimed at easing the drought.
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6.. Friends of Agua Fria Mapping Exercise. The Friends of Agua Fria National Monument invite volunteers to participate in the 8th annual mapping of the Agua Fria River and its tributaries. The date for the mapping is the morning of Saturday, June 20, 2015.
The project involves documenting the presence or absence of water in the channel of the Agua Fria River and tributaries. We choose a day likely to be the hottest and driest day of the year to record the base flow for the river. Teams of volunteers hike segments, between 1 and 5 miles in length. Team Member volunteers should be experienced in hiking in desert and rugged terrain.
We’re planning for the Teams to complete their mapping and return to this year’s Base Station at the Black Canyon City Heritage Park by 10:30am for the celebration of the 15th anniversary of the Monument.
Event Orientation and Training (6/13/2015):
The training & orientation for the event will occur on Saturday, June 13, 2015, from 8:30am-1:00pm at the BLM office at 21605 N. 7th Avenue, in Phoenix. The Teams consist of 2-4 persons for each segment. To register as a participant in the WD mapping and attending the training, please use this website https://www. surveymonkey.com/s/5D3P86V
Please contact me if you have any questions. Tim Flood Friends of Agua Fria National Monument Wet-Dry Team Lead 602-265-4325 eve, 602-618-1853 cell.
