The latest news on the Colorado River shortage makes it clear that now is the time to transition to sustainable, local water solutions and reduce dependence on faraway water supplies. While the headlines can be gloomy, there is so much positive action happening in our binational watersheds in Arizona and Sonora, Mexico to create water security and resilience in the face of droughts and water shortages. We've posted our 2021 Annual Impact Report online here, where you can read about collaborative, community-based efforts to create a hydro-local future. Together we can chart a new water future, inspiring people to steward and conserve our local water resources, instead of sucking distant watersheds like the Colorado River dry.
We are over the moon grateful for all the donors who support this work; as seen in our Impact Report, donors provided the majority, 53%, of our annual budget last year. We truly count on people who believe in sustainable, climate resilient communities to make this work possible. You’ll find examples of the work our donors fund in our Impact Report, including:
WMG partnered with Flowing Wells Junior High students to build an 800-foot-long rain garden along La Cholla Boulevard, where the temperature is typically 20 degrees hotter than the actual air temperature due to the heat island effect. Students invited their family and friends for two massive, community-building workdays, and WMG is continuing to teach rainwater harvesting and expanding the gardens with Junior High students this year.
Our River Run Network is restoring native riparian habitat and surface flows in Middle Tanque Verde Creek by removing over 20,000 pounds of Arundo – an invasive weed that drinks up 3-4 times as much groundwater as native plants. Your support will help resume this work when the cool season returns this fall to make an even bigger impact in restoring Tanque Verde Creek and groundwater levels.
We are creating a more inclusive hydro-local movement with more family-friendly activities at our Living Lab, free neighborhood rain garden workshops in Elvira, Flowing Wells, and South Tucson, and by co-hosting community events with neighborhoods like Barrio Kroeger Lane to teach about smarter development, hold creek cleanups, and implement green stormwater infrastructure.
If you want to see more of this work happening in our communities, please support our work with a donation today. Thank you for investing in our hydro-local future and community-based solutions!
