WRRC Director Presents at Water Think Town Hall
On November 21, 2024, WRRC Director Sharon B. Megdal gave a presentation at The Water Think Town Hall: An Evening with the Experts. This community event was held in Tubac, AZ and attracted over 100 people interested in learning more about water resources in Santa Cruz County. According to Robin Lucky, President of the Calabasas Alliance, interest in organizing the water-focused event was sparked at the Santa Cruz Board of Supervisors meeting this past August. At that meeting, representatives from the Arizona Department of Water Resources (ADWR) presented data showing a decline in estimated storage volumes in the Santa Cruz Active Management Area (AMA).
At the November 21 Town Hall event, Megdal provided background information on the Santa Cruz AMA, referencing the WRRC Arizona Water Factsheet for Santa Cruz County and aspects of the Fifth Management Plan for the Santa Cruz AMA (2020–2025), an ADWR document that assists in achieving the AMA’s management goals. Other expert panelists included Ben Lomeli, President of Friends of the Santa Cruz River; Kevin Moran, Associate Vice President of Regional Affairs at the Environmental Defense Fund; Denise Moreno Ramírez, Chief Environmental Justice Advisor for Calabasas Alliance and U of A President’s Postdoctoral Fellow; Carolyn Shafer, Mission Coordinator for the Patagonia Area Resource Alliance; and Amanda Stone, Deputy Director of the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality. Presentations focused on water quantity and quality, with a common theme on the importance of listening to local community members and addressing their concerns on water management.