Introduction

This class was made possible thanks to a 104B grant from The Water Resources Research Center (WRRC) funded by the U.S. Geological Survey.

The class aim was to develop the means to apply water harvesting techniques at the University of Arizona and educate university students about water harvesting while addressing significant surface water flow concerns on the university campus.

The project involved working with the Surface Water Working Group- a campus group involving individuals from Facilities Management, Groundskeeping, and a university faculty representative. The class project was focused on solving a flooding problem near the McKale Memorial Center sports complex by incorporating appropriate water harvesting interventions. Students worked closely with principal investigators, consultants, and university staff to study existing problems and design and implement innovative water harvesting solutions, swale and berm contouring, mulches, walk way redesign, native plant landscaping, and evaluations of existing drainage plans.

The class included undergraduate and graduate students from a broad spectrum of majors. It was taught by Professor Jim Riley from the Soil Water and Environmental Science (SWES) department and professional consultant Brad Lancaster author of the book Rainwater Harvesting for Drylands. His book on water harvesting was the manual used to study different water harvesting theories and techniques.