The U of A: Part of the Water Solution or Part of the Problem?
By Tara Taylor and Marilynn Garibay
On April 3rd 2003, Dr. J.J Riley’s class was supposed to go on a field trip to learn about the University of Arizona’s water system. However, the water facility program coordinator, Mark Marikos was not available to talk to the students due to some pre-scheduled conferences. So instead he sent the UA water systems group some information on the U of A water systems and usage. So on April 3rd Marilynn Garibay talked to the class and presented the facts that she and her group had received from Mark Marikos.
The University of Arizona is located in the middle of Tucson, which is in the Sonoran Desert. Rain is not abundant in the desert which makes water a precious resource. The U of A is one of the largest facilities in Tucson consuming a large portion of already scarce water. There are five main usages of water on campus: residential, commercial, industrial, irrigation, and academic building. Millions of gallons of water are used throughout the year. Residential use alone consumed 44 Mgal in 2002. The university receives its water from three different sources. They pump from their own wells, they use potable water, and they use reclaimed water. The conversion of using reclaimed water is twice as expensive as using ground water, but Mark Marikos, says that “it’s the right thing to do.” The reclaimed water is used for irrigation and for cooling towers. The goal is to one-day use reclaimed water for all irrigation and all cooling towers.
Although the University of Arizona consumes about 367 million gallons of well water, potable water, and reclaimed water over a year, the efforts of the U of A are solutions to conserving water in Arizona. In addition students need to do their share to conserve water. Using reclaimed water for irrigation and cooling towers helps the situation, but its not always enough. Water will always be a precious commodity in this southwestern desert and it will always remain a problem throughout the years, especially as drought conditions continue to increase. As students of the University of Arizona, it is our job to do our best to use as little water as possible.