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Competitive Grants 2003/04

A request for proposals was issued in November 2002 for the first round of competitive grants, with 66 proposals submitted to compete for $1 million of TRIF funding. The 21 proposals that were funded represent a broad range of work to be accomplished by highly qualified UA faculty and staff, all of whom have partnered with agencies outside the university for direct dollar and/or in-kind support. The projects involve 54 UA primary investigators from four colleges, and 19 departments/schools/units across campus. Seventy-two entities are listed as partners, including schools and school districts, municipal, county, state and federal government agencies, private sector companies and other associations. Over $300,000 has been secured from off campus as direct dollar matches.

UA TRIF Water Sustainability Program - New Projects 2003/04

Estrogenic Activity in Reclaimed Water and Stormwater $50,630.

Robert Arnold, Dept. of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, David Quanrud, Arid Lands Studies, and Kevin Lansey, Civil Engineering and Mechanics.

Investigation of surface waters with high levels of effluent, and examination of estrogenic activity that may affect the reproductive systems of fish. The results will help managers regulate water reuse practices.

Arizona: Know Your Water, A Consumer's Guide to Water Sources, Quality, Regulations, and Home Water Treatment Options $37,075.

Janick Artiola, Soil, Water and Environmental Science, and Kathryn Farrell, Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering.

Creatation of a handbook and a website to help homeowners make informed decisions about water quality and whether they may or may not need expensive treatment systems.

The Evaluation of Paleo Data to Determine Past, Present, and Future Hydrologic Variability in Arizona $53,820.

Victor Baker, Hydrology and Water Resources, Jeffrey Dean, David Meko and Ronald Towner, the Laboratory of Tree-Ring Research, and Juan Valdes, Civil Engineering and Engineering Mechanics.

Evaluate the ancient history of water in the region to understand the variability, frequency and severity of extreme weather and climate, and their consequences in the future.

Tailored Drought Research and Educational Outreach for Arizona $47,570.

Greg Garfin and Barbara Morehouse, Institute for the Study of Planet Earth, and Andrew Comrie, Geography and Regional Development.

Work with the Arizona Drought Task Force to analyze drought information both regionally and through time, identify the vulnerability of communities to drought and generate education and outreach programs for stakeholders.

Improved Turf and Landscape Irrigation Management for Northern Arizona $47,570.

Paul Brown, Soil, Water and Environmental Sciences, and Peter Waller, Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering.

Improve the efficiency of landscape irrigation in northern Arizona through a program that will include an educational website and publications, demonstration projects and workshops, and a small network of automated weather stations to monitor water demand resulting from evaporation.

Arizona Water and Pesticide Safety CD $19,110.

Louis Carlo and Paul Baker, Entomology.

Produce a multimedia distance-learning course, Arizona Water and Pesticide CD, detailing the use and misuse of pesticides that tend to accumulate in state waterways.

WATER: Water in Arizona, Teacher Resources $58,140.

Lisa Elfring, Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, and Elizabeth Hancock and Jean Morrill, Hydrology and Water Resources.

Develope water resource kits and training to help classroom teachers effectively teach water quality to their students.

Occurrence and Control of Emerging Waterborne Pathogens in the State of Arizona $46,340.

Charles Gerba Soil, Water and Environmental Science.

Evaluate two emerging and dangerous pathogens. Naegleria fowleri bacteria in water recently killed two young children. Norwalk virus, widely publicized as causing illnesses on cruise ships, also has sickened rafters on the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon.

Microbial Mechanisms for Observed Rapid and Large-Scale Denitrification in Irrigated Desert Soils: Potential Low Cost Methods to Remediate Nitrate in Soil and Groundwater $49,000.

Edward Glenn, Environmental Research Lab (ERL).

Focus on study and development of management practices using conventional irrigation technology as an inexpensive way to remediate aquifers and soils contaminated with nitrates from fertilizers, mine tailings and sewage, and perchlorates from explosives manufacturing, both responsible for widespread ground-water contamination.

Hydrologic and Water Quality Modeling for Watershed Assessment and Planning $23,060.

Phillip Guertin, School of Renewable Natural Resources.

Improve and expand a user-friendly decision support system (the Automated Geospatial Watershed Assessment tool) that various stakeholders can use to evaluate alternative watershed management strategies.

Quantifying Mountain Front Recharge in Southeastern Arizona $52,620.

James Hogan and Brenda Ekwurzel, Hydrology and Water Resources.

Study natural recharge to obtain information that is crucial for developing water use strategies and riparian conservation goals.

Simulated Basin Model for Water Resource Planning and Education $108,680.

Kevin Lansey Civil Engineering and Mechanics, Paul Blowers and Wendell Ela, Chemical and Environmental Engineering Paul Brooks and Steven Stewart, Hydrology and Water Resources, and Paul Wilson, Agricultural and Resource Economics.

Develope a model that managers and policy makers could use to understand the hydrology of their communities and the impact of different management options.

Evaluation of M&I Water Conservation Measures Through Actual Water Savings & Cost Benefit Analysis $29,400.

Val Little, WRRC.

Analyze regional, municipal and industrial water conservation programs and strategies for their actual water savings, costs and benefits. The results will create a reference document and interactive website so that decision makers can maximize water savings for dollars spent on conservation efforts.

Development of Riparian Evapotranspiration and Ecohydrologic Models to Predict Changes in and Consequences of Riparian Water Availablity $69,510.

Thomas Maddock and James Shuttleworth, Hydrology and Water Resources, and Travis Huxman, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology.

Build a new groundwater model to predict hydrological and ecological changes in riparian zones, specifically in the San Pedro Basin.

$17,215.

Edward Martin and Donald Slack Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering, and Elizabeth Didier, Mojave County,

Study how possibly to restart agricultural programs and reduce health problems by using effluent on the Havasupai Reservation, where food is currently brought in on foot or by pack animal.

The Water Wagon: A Mobile Laboratory and Education Center$88,400.

Randall Norton and Sue Martin Graham County Cooperative Extension, and Lee Clark and Jonie Burge, Safford Agricultural Center.

Modify a trailer into a mobile education center to bring water education to K-12 students in southeastern Arizona. The center will offer hands-on displays on hydrology, biology and chemistry, and possibly serve as a prototype for other mobile units in Arizona.

Mountain Block Recharge and the Hydrology of Caves: An Interactive Display $18,620.

Susan Pater and Kim McReynolds Cochise County Cooperative Extension

Develop a public educational display for Karchner Caverns, near Benson, that explains the process of mountain block recharge and hydrology that created this and other caverns and caves.

Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria and Endotoxins in Association with Land Application of Biosolids: Possible Impact on Quality of Groundwater Supplies and Comparison to Other routes of Work-Related and Household Exposure $55,600.

Chris Rensing Soil,Water and Environmental Sciences.

Examine whether antibiotic-resistant bacteria and endotoxins in processed sewage, called biosolids and used increasingly in agriculture, pose a threat to public health.

Detection of Noncytopathogenic and Treatment Resistant Human Virus Populations in Drinking Water using Integrated Cell Culture/PCR $53,630.

Kelly Reynolds, ERL.

Develope a rapid, reliable method to evaluate drinking water and detect pathogenic viruses.

Reductive Destruction of Chlorinated Hydrocarbons in Modified Fuel Cells $24,500.

Eduardo Saez and James Baygents Chemical and Environmental Engineering, Brian Barbaris, Superfund researcher, J. Brent Hisky, Materials Science and Engineering, and Eric Betterton, Atmospheric Science.

Plan to implement a cost-effective alternative for treating sites contaminated with hazardous solvents like trichloroethylene (TCE).

Quantifying Potential Endocrine Disruption in Effluent Dominated and Effluent Dependent Waters within Arizona: Fish as Habitat Assessment Biomarkers $49,000.

David Walker, ERL, and Dennis McIntosh, Soil, Water and Environmental Sciences.

Examine the impact of effluent from cities on wildlife habitat downstream, including chemicals that mimic estrogen and disrupt the reproductive systems of animals, especially fish, that inhabit these areas.