Category Archives: Water Issues

Tempe, ASU Team Up to Map Drugs in Wastewater

Everything – drugs included – sooner or later travels the sewers.

So Tempe and ASU plan to study wastewater as part of a public health effort to identify substance abuse hotspots and evaluate efforts to reduce opioid prescriptions.

Read/listen to my full story at KJZZ’s Arizona Science Desk:
Tempe Partners With ASU to Detect Drugs in Wastewater

Salty Subglacial Lakes Could Host Cousins to Otherwordly Life

Figure by Anja Rutishauser.

An international team of researchers has reported what may be the first two isolated, salty, subglacial lakes found on Earth.

The water pockets — one roughly the area of Arizona’s Saguaro Lake, the other about four-fifths the size of the state’s Apache Lake — differ from 400 other subglacial pools in that they are 4-5 times as salty as Earth’s oceans.

Read/listen to my full story at KJZZ’s Arizona Science Desk:
Finding An Alien World Half A Mile Beneath Canadian Ice

Arizona Utility Looks Into Robots to Maintain Canals

Maintaining water quality across Salt River Project’s 131 miles of canals, connected by more than 1,000 miles of lateral ditches and pipes, poses unique technical and workforce problems.

Now, SRP is working with Arizona State University robot experts to develop robotic solutions to the problem.

Read/listen to my full story at KJZZ’s Arizona Science Desk:
Lifeblood Of The Desert: Salt River Project Teams Turn To ASU Robots To Maintain Canal System

In Southwest U.S., Stream Flows May Increase After Wildfires

Photo by U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Wildfires in the Lower Colorado basin can increase streamflow in the river, even during dry conditions, and even while Arizona endures a 20-plus-year drought, according to a recent study.

The 30-year study examined long-term regional fire effects at 168 sites across the contiguous U.S.

Read/listen to my full story at KJZZ’s Arizona Science Desk:
Study: Southwest Wildfires Boost Stream Flows

Ground Subsidence Could Worsen Rising Seas in Coastal Areas

Areas of San Francisco Bay Area at risk from sea level rise. Graphic courtesy Arizona State University/Manoochehr Shirzaei)

A new study suggests official flood risk plans for the San Francisco Bay Area may underestimate inundation due to sea level rise over the next century by nearly 4 to 91 percent.

Other coastal cities could face similar effects, even under best-case scenarios.

Read/listen to my full story at KJZZ’s Arizona Science Desk:
ASU Scientist: Sinking Ground Will Worsen Rising Seas In San Francisco Bay Area