Press Release: 2ND ANNUAL HIGH SCHOOL WASH CLEAN UP --
EVENT KICKS OFF NEIGHBORHOOD EFFORT TO IMPROVE WATER QUALITY
TUCSON – Do you know your local wash? Also known as arroyos, washes are the usually dry, sandy channels that snake throughout the Southwest, carrying water from storms often just a few days a year. This Saturday, September 6, dozens of volunteers will descend on High School Wash south of the University of Arizona to clean up trash and learn how to assess the health of the wash. Following a successful cleanup one year ago, Tucson nonprofit Watershed Management Group (WMG) has partnered with the Rincon Heights Neighborhood Association, Tucson Clean and Beautiful, and the University of Arizona’s Peace Corps Fellows to remove trash, dig up invasive species like buffelgrass, and collect information on the wash’s health.
Dry washes play an important ecological function in the desert, providing natural points of groundwater recharge, pathways for wildlife, and hosting denser, more lush vegetation than is found in the surrounding landscape. In fact, though covering just 5% of the land, dry washes are home to 90% of the bird life in some areas of the Sonoran Desert. In cities, washes often become neglected ecosystems. Having lost much of their hydrologic function through dramatic changes in the landscape, they also become sinks for “non-point source” (NPS) pollutants like trash, pet waste, auto oil, yard fertilizers and chemicals, and sediment that are swept in to them by storm water runoff.
The information gathered by this year’s cleanup participants will help inform a new project to address those non-point source pollutants in Rincon Heights. Over the next two years, WMG will hold a series of public workshops and presentations to educate residents about issues related to NPS pollution and give them skills to improve water quality in their own yards, neighborhoods, and washes. Best Management Practices for NPS pollution like vegetated basins, water-retaining berms, and curb cuts—often known as “water harvesting” features—will be installed in public, hands-on workshops to help slow and infiltrate stormwater from city streets.
The UA Peace Corps Fellows program is the second largest program in the country. Returned Peace Corps Volunteers are in graduate school and work in internships that benefit underserved communities. Service projects planned for this year include the project in Rincon Heights, participating in Tucson AIDSWalk, the National Homeless Count, and a project with the Community Food Bank. For more information, visit grad.arizona.edu/peacecorps.
Watershed Management Group seeks to empower people to effectively manage their local water resources, and has conducted several programs to bring rainwater harvesting to schools, neighborhood groups and homeowners. To learn more about WMG’s innovative programs, visit their website at www.watershedmg.org.
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For more information, please contact:
James MacAdam
Watershed Outreach Coordinator
Watershed Management Group
520-396-3266 (office)
james@watershedmg.org
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