Local goes Global

Miles and miles away, across the Grand Pacific, a young woman native to the desert has found a new home on the waterfront of Singapore.  This water submission from Ashleigh S. captures the global connectedness of water. Colored candy ribbon lights flex and fold in each wake and ripple of the night water.

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After Turkey Trike

Previously, I mentioned the Old Cross Cut Canal versus the New Cross Cut Canal. In case you are looking for a great triking path to burn off that extra helping of stuffing, check out the Old Cross Cut Canal path and park that begins at 48th street and Indian School. Sweatpants allowed.

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The imagery and written text were both submitted by artist and sailor Keay E. 

“To him who spread out the earth upon the waters, for his mercies are to eternity.”

There is a memory I turn over endlessly.  

A fleeting second of suspension above a broken sun and below the vault of heaven, between the firmament and the waters.  Splitting a moment of toes digging into coarse Floridian grass and the release of that energy as inertia, an arc of gravity and the inevitable crush of cleaving water. The thunder of bubbles and pressure resolving to the clicking of oysters and underwater silence.  

I can parse that memory, tell of the lawn party where adults raised cocktails to ward off humidity and heat, forays into the frosty air conditioning and slippery polished floors.  The belly laugh of my grandfather as he would drop ice cubes into the bathing suits of the running children. Tell of days in the sun and in boats, beachcombing or walking the sandbar at low tide, sunburns and brown skin. I can tear up knowing these are memories of home and family that I will never be able to have in a “real” sense again.  

A moment, this touchstone of memory is a path to a personal eternity, a point in time filled with the embrace of water, youth and a broken sun.

Thankful

Thankful for clean clear crisp water in the middle of the dry dusty desert.

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H2OPE

Who gets up at 6am to run along the Arizona Canal to help raise money and awareness for clean water? Nathan, Jan, Cheryl, Bob, Suzy and Birungi, that's who! This amazing septet participated in the Run for the Pour sponsored by Esperanca. The 5k, complete with logs and 5 gallon buckets to carry, was designed to not just raise funds for clean water but to highlight the enormous efforts that millions of individuals undertake on a daily basis simply to haul water to their home. 

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Day and Night

A keen eye and a deliberate camera resulted in these lovely images submitted to My Your Our Water. From Lake Roosevelt to Chaparral Lake Park, Raj G. captured the dynamic range of desert water bodies both remote and urban.

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From India to Arizona

Saturday was a full Trike day. After a long ride on the canal, the Trike took a small detour on return to the Livery. It was in front of the Scottsdale Center for Performing Arts, that we had the pleasure of making a new acquaintance. Once upon a time, Raj had a small farm in India and he studied water in school. He shared his opinions, stories, experiences and knowledge about cool technology that measures the moisture in the soil to aid farmers in knowing when to water a field so as to not over or under water a crop.

Thanks for sharing your insights and you look like a natural Triker!

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Two Bucks

Nearly 66% of individuals who lack safe drinking water live on less than $2 a day. It should also be noted that people living in the areas commonly referred to as "slums", regularly pay 5 to 10 times more per liter of water than the individuals living in the well established neighborhoods of the same city.

1 out of 9

780 million people lack access to clean water.

If you are reading this blog, it is more than highly probable that you comprise the other 8.

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Nuts about Water!

Ok, well peanuts technically are NOT a nut but legumes about water doesn't have the same ring. Did you know that the peanut crop needs between 20-30 inches of water each growing season? Luckily most of that water refreshment comes from regional rainfall. This water submission is courtesy of  The Art Resource Center in Tempe Arizona run by master gardener and water friend Sherrie Z.

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Who you calling a slack tub?

Meet George. He is a blacksmith and raiser of livestock. George is an Arizona native and connected to the land and the water through birth, work and family. As a practicing skilled blacksmith, George uses the water in the slack tub to quickly cool a metal piece on which he is working as well as control the fire in the forge. During our charming and nostalgic conversation, George shared stories of his grandfather helping dig out the canals, water running from the McDowell Mountains to the homestead as well as his own boyhood adventures swimming and goofing around in the many canals. Thanks for the great stories and the metal bits!

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Quality on Tap

A beach reared Californian transplanted to Iowa, Kayce S. shared one of her new daily water views.  "It's strange to go from ocean and beach to water tower and corn."

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The Three Map-kateers

These three fabulous ladies were out for a LONG morning bike ride along the Arizona Canal when our Trike and bike paths crossed. Melissa, Deb and Harriet were beyond thrilled to get their very own fold out SRP map of the multi use canal paths with watershed, dam and reservoir map on the reverse side. The avid bikers and water conservationists ( Harriet just switched to a zeroscape yard) were so full of enthusiasm and spunk that it was hard to keep up with them. Alas, the encounter was not 100% perfect, I'm afraid I may have directed them to the Old Cross Cut Canal path instead of the New Cross Cut Canal. My apologies ladies and I hope the rest of your ride was fantastic regardless of your route!

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Freshwater Statistics

About 71% of the earth's surface is covered in water.

About 97.5 % of the water is saltwater.

That leaves about 2.5 % freshwater.

Almost 70% of that freshwater is locked in glacial ice.

Almost 30% of that freshwater is trapped in ground soil.

That leaves less than .0007% of all water on earth accessible for direct human use.

This is the water found in lakes, rivers, reservoirs, and tappable unground sources.

This .0007% is renewed through rain and snow fall.

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On the way to the Canal...

As I was making my way through Old Town Scottsdale to start a morning Trike along the Arizona Canal, I met this gentleman waiting for a walk signal.  He was wearing running shoes so I hazarded a guess that he was "heading to the canal to jog?" Turns out, Craig who is visiting from California was actually on his way to grab a coffee but immediately jumped at the chance to ask me about the canal and its' functionality. BINGO! I RAN with it!

Thanks for all the questions about water, canals & watersheds. Thanks for sharing your insights about water and water quality in a small incorporated southern city of California. Enjoy your desert vacation!

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Tennessee Valley

This water experience image was submitted by Sarah K. who once lived in the desert but now enjoys four full seasons in Tennessee. "Moving water is my happiness. It is constant yet always changing. It is the same but never the same all at once."

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The Incredible Bulk

Bulk water has most often referred to large quantities of water transported by tanker trucks for potable uses. However, with global freshwater resources becoming a greater concern, bulk water has transitioned into a much discussed solution via possible international export of water reserves.

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Water  abc's

It was a fresh morning of triking into the wind. Steady one speed pedaling, serious sign wind drag and some pigeon dodging. Ok, while it may not have been a true Trike Triathlon it turned out to be an Academic Decathlon! I had the good fortune to spend time with the Academic Decathlon team from Westwood High School of Mesa as they discussed hydro electric power and water issues at Arizona Falls. As Luck would have it, the second stop of their day was the Phoenix Art Museum. SERENDIPITY ! My Your Our Water bridges water and aesthetics! Westwood Academic Decathlon Team, thanks for your time, attention and questions. I look forward to your water experience submissions.

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Hook, Line & Sinker

Recreational fishing produces $1.3 billion annually in economic benefit to the state of Arizona. Remember a valid fishing license is required for all resident and non resident anglers over the age of 10 that fish on public waters.

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Workin' It !

It was an early morning Trike adventure along the Arizona Canal when low and behold  we encountered an SRP truck, a giant crane and all sorts of fancy pants equipment. A crew has been rehabbing the railing at the lovely Arizona Falls resting and recreation site. The sections that were rusty have been removed and replaced with new beautiful shiny bits. Thanks for the early morning welding by Lyle and his hardhat wearing crew!

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Water Sign

This image was submitted by Stephen S. who calls the desert home but  frequently answers the call of the sea in Puerto Vallarta. 

     "The water centers me. It's peaceful, calm and balanced. But then again, I am a water sign!"

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Give a Hoot...

If you happened to use a restroom facility at Bartlett Lake, perhaps you are familiar with this array of signage aptly placed ABOVE the water fountain. KEEP YOUR WATERS CLEAN.  Just remember from watershed  to your kitchen sink,  your water is connected.

"One of SRP's most important water management programs is water quality monitoring. It provides information about patterns and trends in SRP surface and groundwater quality and also about potential pollution sources. SRP monitors the rivers within the watershed, as well as the canals and groundwater wells within its water service area."

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Become Ocean

John Luther Adams was commissioned to create a new work by the Seattle Symphony. The result, inspired by the vast power and beauty of the Pacific Ocean, was the Pultizer Prize winning composition, Become Ocean.

"Life on this earth first emerged from the sea. As the polar ice melts and sea level rises, we humans find ourselves facing the prospect that once again we may quite literally become ocean.....Eventually we begin to realize that we’re part of something much larger than ourselves. Become Ocean embraces this idea, but gets its title from something much more personal for me. Back in the late ’70s, John Cage wrote a mesostic poem called “Many Happy Returns,” in honor of his dear friend—also my mentor and friend—Lou Harrison. He compares Lou’s music to a river in delta, with all these different influences and currents, coming together in a big beautiful sweep of music. And in the last line of the poem, Cage writes, “Listening to it, we become ocean.”

LISTEN to a clip from Become Ocean

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Water Memories

This image was submitted by Susan M.

"Running through the sprinklers and lying on the warm summer sidewalk to leave a wet body print; these are my earliest water memories."

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Keep on Triking

It's no longer in the 90's but the sun is still shining super bright. When not wearing my sparkle blue stars and stripe trike helmet, look for me sportin' a Triker hat!

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1,000 Day Dam

In a response to the many pleas for help during the Great Depression, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation constructed the multi-arch buttress dam located on the Verde River. Bartlett Dam took 1000 days to build between 1936-1939 and is located about 35 miles northeast of Phoenix. The funds for the project were provided 80% by Salt River Project and 20% by the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

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Roping, Riding and Water ? ( well it is the west !)

Meet Reggie. I had the pleasure of making his charming acquaintance while riding the Trike over the weekend. We talked water, desert ruins, lost and found treasures, rusty red metal, healthy horse droppings, trike fabrication, canal digging, pancake breakfasts, fancy pants yachts, water rights, grizzly adams, globe trotting and more water. Thanks for chewing the fat Reggie. It was truly a pleasure.

PS- thanks for the cold bottled water from Cincinnati, it hit the spot!

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Tee Time

There are approximately 32,000 golf courses in the world.

There are approximately 16,000 golf courses in the United States.

There are approximately 300 golf courses in Arizona.

The average golf course uses 312,000 gallons of water per day.

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Crosscut Canal

The "old" Crosscut canal was built in 1888 by pioneers to divert water from the Arizona Canal to the Grand Canal for irrigation. It was sold to the federal government in 1906. Parts of it are now used to carry storm drainage from Northeast Phoenix as well transport water from the Arizona Canal to the Grand Canal if needed.

The "new" Crosscut Canal was built from 1912-1913 to connect two parallel penstocks which drop in to the Crosscut Hydroelectric plant.

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There's Water in my Coffee!

While sipping my morning coffee, I suddenly realized that the water in my coffee was far greater than the 16 ounces from the tap. There are gallons and gallons and gallons of water in my porcelain mug. The water footprint of my coffee begins far away on a plantation with the nurturing and growing of the delicious crop, that is eventually harvested, roasted, traded, and eventually brewed. The stock of my coffee suddenly rose when I grasped the true value of my morning ritual.

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