Semiarid, with a scarcity of water resources, Arizona might seem an unlikely state to be threatened by flooding. Flooding in Arizona, however, does indeed pose serious threats to life and property in the state. In fact, because of erosion and scouring in unstable stream channels, certain flood hazards exist in the arid Southwest that are not generally present in humid regions of the United States.

Drought in Arizona might seem less a special water management concern than a natural and permanent condition. That an area is generally desert, however, with a warm, arid-semiarid climate does not mean it is afflicted with drought. Usually enough precipitation falls in the state to support a thriving desert ecosystem, with its varied flora and fauna, all adapted to dry conditions.

Efforts are currently underway to establish regional water supply agencies to serve two Arizona urban areas: Tucson and Phoenix. Already authorized by the state Legislature, the Tucson Active Management Area Water Augmentation Authority (TWAA) is in the final process of being formed. Meanwhile, the Arizona Legislature is currently considering legislation to authorize a Phoenix Groundwater Replenishment District (PGRD) to serve the Phoenix Active Management Area.

When Loren McIntyre, South American traveler and explorer, asked a Mayoruna Indian where the source of the Amazon River was located, the Indian pointed skyward to the clouds. Advocates of weather modification likewise look to the clouds as a source of water to augment current supplies.

"A fish out of water" is a figure of speech expressing incongruity. At first sight, "Fish farming in the desert" might seem to express a similar sense of dislocation, even futility. But, in fact, fish farming or aquaculture is attracting interest in Arizona. Its supporters, few in number but committed, believe that aquaculture, a field relatively new to the state, has the potential to become a viable Arizona industry.

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According to the Bible, on the second day God gathered the waters so that dry land would appear. Before that time all was surface water. Surface water was all. With the appearance of land, the earth's hydrology became complicated. Groundwater thus formed, and a quandary begotten that challenges hydrologists and lawmakers to this day.

Beginning October 1974, the University of Arizona will become the fifth terminal station in the Office of Water Research and Technology (OWRT) network for retrieval of the Water Resources Scientific Information Center (WRSIC) bibliographic data base. States to be served by the University of Arizona are: Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Oregon, Texas, Utah, and Washington.

At a meeting in Tucson several weeks ago, a Phoenix-based representative of a Federal agency lamented over the lack of information concerning artificial groundwater recharge in Arizona; yet very thorough research in this regard has been accomplished over the past ten years at the University of Arizona. Hopefully in the future, through the means of this newly initiated Newsletter and the Project Information Bulletins, water-related research efforts and results, other than those competently handled by the Agricultural Extension Service and others, will reach the attention of a greater number of interested users.

A vital part of the Arizona Water Information System program has been the cataloging of water resources projects conducted within the State of Arizona. To date over 1,000 projects have been identified and placed on computer file for retrieval.