Water Resources Education Assessment - Pinal County Programs

Name of Program/Location/Point of Contact

Pinal County Cooperative Extension
Rick Gibson, County Director
820 E. Cottonwood Lane, Bldg. C
Casa Grande, AZ 85222-2726
(520) 836?5221
Fax: (520) 836-1750
e-mail: gibsonrd@ag.arizona.edu

Cooperative Extension in Pinal County focuses on non-formal educational programs in Family and Consumer Sciences, 4-H Youth Development and Agriculture and Natural Resources. Though no formal water resources education programs exist in Pinal County, water conservation and protection is often interwoven into educational programs in each area. As population growth in Pinal County, which is just now beginning in earnest, causes finite water resources to become more strained, public water education programs will increase in importance.

In irrigated agriculture, various research and outreach activities have developed and presented to clientele information about the timing and frequency of irrigations. In an area where every drop of water counts for maintaining a sustainable living environment, efficient use of irrigation water is a critical management tool for agricultural producers. Research-based recommendations for timing irrigations allows producers to comfortably delay the next irrigation until conditions actually warrant the application. Over the course of a growing season, the number of irrigations and subsequently, the total amount of water applied, is reduced.

Project CENTRL, a rural leadership program conducted by Cooperative Extension, focuses major sections of its two year curriculum cycle on water issues, including water conservation. Graduates of this program often find themselves after graduation working on rural issues where an understanding of water issues is important.

Family and Consumer Science and 4-H Youth Development faculty often employ water issues, including conservation, in curricula presented to audiences of all ages. These audiences can have a major impact in effecting the conservation of water resources at home.