Making Sense of Place Film Series A documentary film and educational outreach project launched by the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy

Making Sense of Place – Phoenix: The Urban Desert

Water Resources and Ecology

For metropolitan Phoenix, the management of water resources is an important issue. Even if you don't live in a desert city, water could be getting scarcer than you think. Check out the following sites to find out more facts about water in your state, how to conserve water in your home and how to protect and restore your community's water resources.

Western Center for Environmental Information: America's Threatened Streams and Restoration Strategies
  www.wcei.org
Organizes and presents state-specific factual environmental information on water quality concerns, sources of pollution and the nature of contamination threatening the nation's streams, lakes, and rivers. Provides an index of comprehensive studies on water quality-limited streams and includes state reports, maps, databases, as well as links to a number of watershed education sites.
Clean Water Network
  www.cwn.org
An alliance of over 1,100 organizations that endorse the National Agenda for Clean Water, which includes the key elements of preventing pollution, achieving zero sewage discharge, protecting critical ecosystems and strengthening enforcement and accountability. Provides comprehensive reports and fact sheets on coastal waters, water quality enforcement, factory farm pollution, urban water pollution, raw sewage pollution, the scope of the Clean Water Act, water quality standards and the wetlands. Also provides an on-line water quality standards tool kit, featuring fact sheets and links to on-line resources (reports, databases, technical information) from other organizations and the government, and links to local, state, and federal contacts.
Water Wiser
  www.waterwiser.org
Provides information on water conservation ranging from educational brochures and programs to conferences to water-efficient products and services.
Center for Watershed Protection
  www.cwp.org
Provides practical and technical information for people and communities interested in protecting and restoring the urban watershed of streams, lakes, rivers and estuaries. Resources include a CD-Rom with five presentations to teach design and implementation of several types of popular storm water treatment practices, including filtering, infiltration, open channels, aquatic buffers, and ponds and wetlands. Provides hands-on training and technical assistance to local governments, small watershed protection groups and others; has specific on-line technical resources designed to meet the small community watershed protection group's needs.
River Network
  www.riverwatch.org
This site links activists with river information resources and services. National network of workshops and training sessions to develop watershed management strategies, water quality monitoring, protection and restoration tools as well as fundraising and organization management. Provides an extensive resource library, directory of river groups, and funding sources, as well clean water legislation information by state.