Recognizing that many residents in the Quad Cities area have questions about future water supplies and availability, The City of Prescott, through its Water Resource Management office, will offer a full year of water education programs.
The hour-long educational presentations will begin at noon Feb. 21, in the Prescott Public Library; and will continue through the year, on the third Wednesday of each month.
Prescott City Manager Michael Lamar announced the programs by stressing that the City Council and city staff have made protection and conservation of water resources a long-term priority. He urged citizens to attend any or all of the “WaterSmart – Drop by Drop” programs.
Below is the WaterSmart Series schedule and topics for each.
- 21 Prescott’s Urban Water Cycle. How water is delivered through more than 500 miles of pipeline.
- March 21 How A Watershed Works. Explanations of the complex watershed that provides water to much of northern and central Arizona;
- April 18 Prescott’s Water History. A review of the historic through contemporary sources for water, beginning with the founding of Prescott in 1864.
- May 16 Conservation – How to and Why. Is it true that the average person uses 122 gallons of water daily?
- June 20 Outdoor Conservation. How to be a wise and saving water user for outdoor purposes.
- July 18 Understanding a Water Bill. Why does water seem so expensive?
- August 15 Water Resource management. What does the water resource management plan entail?
- September 19 Big Chino Water Ranch. What the city-owned Big Chino Water Ranch can and cannot do.
- October 17 Water for new residential and commercial developments. How new water needs are determined and administered.
- November 21 The city’s longtime commitment to city water users.
- December 19 Summary of year-long education series. A compressed review of the Water Smart program.
Water Resources Manager Leslie Graser introduced the project and defined what is meant by “Water Smart” during an hour-long program at the Prescott City Library in mid-January.
She explained to a large crowd attending, “We with the city want to be as transparent as possible in letting residents know about our water supply, our conservation efforts and what we view as future issues which involve water.”
The University of Arizona science and engineering graduate used a PowerPoint presentation to illustrate what the future programs would entail. She emphasized that the city wanted residents to bring questions. “We view this project as a major community education initiative. In fact, we’re working with Stacy DeVeau, program coordinator from the University of Arizona Cooperative Extension office in Yavapai County, to visit schools and provide water education to K-12 students.”
DeVeau later announced that through her office, Yavapai County Cooperative Extension
has fourth grade hands-on water education kits available.
Graser and Leah Hubbard, the water resource coordinator, also described the ongoing rebate program the city has for those who install new toilets, washers and other water-using appliances. They said that since it began, the rebate program has returned almost $475,000 to qualified applicants. Information about the rebate process is available at prescottwater.com.
Graser assured those present that Prescott was “…not in danger of running out of water at any time in the immediate future. However, we want to do all we can to assure that current and future residents will not have to worry about that issue. Sensible water use and proactive water conservation will be for the benefit of everyone.” QCBN
By Ray Newton, QCBN
Photo by Ray Newton
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