Citizens Water Advocacy Group

Weekly Calendar of Meetings and Events

September 5, 2010

èNew

èUpdated

Saturday, September 11, 2010

10:00 a.m.–12 noon – Steve Pawlowski, Water Sentinels program coordinator for the Grand Canyon Chapter of the Sierra Club, on “Is the Verde River Protected by the Clean Water Act?” Recently retired from the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality after 21 years, Pawlowski will attempt to explain some of the legal uncertainties surrounding the issue of Clean Water Act jurisdiction in Arizona. Location: Granite Peak Unitarian Universalist Congregation, 882 Sunset (two blocks west of Miller Valley Road, "behind True Value"). More info: 445-4218, info@cwagaz.org, http://www.cwagaz.org.

Monday, September 13, 2010

1:00 p.m. – Meeting of the Upper Verde River Watershed Protection Coalition TAC (Technical Advisory Committee). Agenda will be available before the meeting at www.uvrwpc.org. Location: Yavapai County Building, Gladys Gardner Room, 1015 Fair Street.

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

è10:00 a.m. – Verde Watershed Association meeting will feature a review of projects currently funded by the Walton Family Foundation or under consideration. The list of projects and the speakers are available in the agenda; please contact Ed Wolfe to see it. Location: Board Room, of the Yavapai County Annex, 10 South 6th Street, Cottonwood. Ed Wolfe, ewwolfe@commspeed.net.

è2:00–4:00 p.m. – Yavapai County Water Advisory Committee (WAC), joint meeting with the Board of Supervisors. Board of Supervisors meeting room, Yavapai County Verde Annex, 10 South 6th Street, Cottonwood. A video link will be set up to the Gladys Gardner Conference Room, County building, 1015 Fair Street, in Prescott.

Sunday, September 26, 2010

è9:00 a.m.–3:00 p.m. Hike the Verde with the Sierra Club: Part 4 – Verde Springs. "C" (4 mi, 200' EC) Entering through private property (with permission), we will hike down Granite Creek to the Verde River, then down the Verde to view beaver dams and Verde Springs, the source of the base flow. After lunch, we'll view birds, beaver dams, and rock art. Bring your camera! Easy, pretty hike, lots of fun and info! No wading required. We'll learn about the natural history of and the conservation issues surrounding our Verde River, in particular groundwater pumping that will eventually transform the Upper Verde into a dry wash, destroying the riparian habitat of several threatened and endangered species. Download a pdf of the 2010 hike schedule at: http://arizona.sierraclub.org/yavapai/outings.html

Reservation required: 12 hiker limit. Contact Gary Beverly at 928-636-2638 or gbverde@cableone.net.

Saturday, November 13, 2010

[All day: The current plan is 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Save the date!] – The Verde Watershed Association and CWAG will host a forum, "Recharge of Treated Wastewater to Groundwater: What Are the Risks?" The forum recognizes that municipal recharge of treated wastewater to aquifers offers a means of augmenting the Southwest's water supply. But are there long-term risks that may prove unacceptable? Emerging contaminants -- relatively new chemical substances that are unregulated and incompletely removed by conventional treatment processes -- raise questions that demand examination.

         Speakers thus far include Dr. David Quanrud, U of A (on the presence and fate of emerging contaminants in treatment plants and the environment); Dr. Catherine Propper, NAU (effects on aquatic life); and Dr. Bruce Blumberg, UC Irvine (human health effects). Invitations have been sent to ADWR Director Herb Guenther and ADEQ Director Ben Grumbles.

         The forum will take place at Granite Peak Unitarian Universalist Congregation. For more information or to sign up to help, please contact Ed Wolfe, ewwolfe@commspeed.net (928-776-4754).

Wednesday–Friday, October 27–29, 2010

èThe WESTCAS (Western Coalition of Arid States) Fall Conference in Tucson: “Sustainable Water: A Year Later---What’s New?” continues WESTCAS's ongoing discussions of current regulatory, legislative, and policy issues. The Conference will feature significant presentations regarding the impact and implications of the latest round of stormwater permits; a new sustainable water infrastructure paradigm; current federal regulatory/legislative initiatives; and the latest developments with emerging contaminants. To make a sleeping room reservation please call the Westward Look Resort at 1-800-722-2500 and ask for a room in the WESTCAS block. Room rates are $109.00 plus tax and daily resort fee. A detailed agenda with registration information will be available on the WESTCAS site soon: www.westcas.org. Please contact Ed Curley or Rose Hylton at 740-6500 for questions or additional information.

NOTE:

èCWAG Candidate Forum video online and on Access 13. The primary is over, but you can still see Lindsay Bell and Karen Fann, Democratic and Republican candidates, respectively, for Arizona House of Representatives District one. The one-hour version will run on Access 13 from Tuesday 8/24 through Sunday 9/19 in these time slots:

Prescott - Sunday 2:00 p.m. and Tuesday 6:00 a.m.

Prescott Valley - Tuesday 6:00 a.m. and Sunday 8:00 p.m

The full version is up on Vimeo at: http://www.vimeo.com/14360408