—By Samantha Swartz
This past year, I was extremely fortunate to be awarded the Halpenny Intern Scholarship. The internship connected me with four remarkable organizations in Tucson — the USGS, Montgomery & Associates, Tucson Water, and Arizona Project Wet. The exceptional experience of working alongside each organization allowed me to understand how hydrology is applied by a broad range of entities — from the local and federal government to the public nonprofit and private sector. Each organization I visited shared a keen enthusiasm to improve the world through hydrologic science, and every person I met never hesitated to share their wealth of knowledge and expertise. As I reflect back on my time as an intern, I feel honored to one day join these exemplary professionals.
I began my internship at Tucson Water where I met Dick Thompson and Maya Teyechea. I became interested in the Santa Cruz Heritage Project — a proposal to bring flowing water back to downtown Tucson. During a project meeting, I observed how Tucson Water collaborates with Pima County to organize such an endeavor, including hiring a hydrologic consulting firm to model the area and evaluate whether or not the project meets permitting regulations. Soon afterwards, I was connected with Andrew Greenhill, the Intergovernmental Relations Manager, because of my desire to see more water politics in action. Despite his incredibly hectic schedule, Mr. Greenhill was gracious enough have one-on-one discussions with me about the messy world of water policy. Mr. Greenhill encouraged me to attend a Citizens’ Water Advisory Committee and a CAP board meeting. I was fascinated by the dynamics between Tucson Water, Arizona residents, and special interest groups in spirited yet respectful debates. Later, I accompanied Mr. Thompson to a Directors Conference Meeting and a Sweetwater Wetlands tour, and I spent a day in the field collecting monitoring well samples. Towards the end of my internship, I met with Irene Ogata to discuss Tucson Water’s role in neighborhood-scale green infrastructure. Her expertise helped focus my senior research project on the infiltration rates of rainwater harvesting basins. Overall, I gained an expansive view on Tucson Water’s many roles in the community and how their hydrologists make an impact.
I connected with the USGS over the summer, and I had a blast doing field work with them. Under the guidance of Edyth Hermosillo, I collected water quality samples from a tributary of the Verde River. She walked me through the meticulous steps of filtering and bottling samples to prevent any contamination. Later, I helped clean and organize the water quality lab, and I further prepared the samples for testing. It was a pleasure to work in such a pristine lab under diligent care. Finally, I went on several trips to surface water gaging stations with Emmet McGuire. We had many long drives together to different site locations, and I thoroughly enjoyed his company. Mr. McGuire was delighted to share his experiences of working for USGS for over 20 years. He told funny stories, like trying to avoid crocodiles in the swamps near the Florida field office, as well as relating expert wisdom about the hazards of entering private property to check gaging stations. The love for his job was apparent, and he never tired in answering all my questions. I felt very grateful to have his instruction on field methods.
Next, I visited Arizona Project Wet, an educational nonprofit at the Water Resources Research Center near UA. I met two energetic and dedicated educators, Betsy Wilkening and Miriam Aleman-Crouch, and they instructed me on how to lead 3rd and 6th grade lessons on groundwater. I was taught the fundamentals of being an effective teacher, like how to ask students directed questions to facilitate critical thinking, or how to hold attention by talking with passionate vigor. Then, I was sent to classrooms all over Tucson to teach children about the groundwater and surface water connection using hands-on groundwater models. I discovered a newfound appreciation for educators; while teaching is exciting, it can be a challenging and exhausting experience! I was also given the opportunity to lead Sweetwater Wetlands tours for elementary school classes. I explained how water shapes an ecosystem and the lives of plants and animals who live there. I enjoyed answering all the serious and silly questions the kids had. It was a satisfying experience to teach something new about water to inquisitive young minds.
Under the guidance of Gary Woodard, I worked at Montgomery & Associates on a variety of hydrologic consulting projects. This gave me invaluable insight into the types of water resource questions currently being investigated all over the state. Initially, I was assigned research into historical records on water sources in reservation lands. Later on, the bulk of my internship hours focused on efforts in water conservation. I collected information on past and present block rate structures from utility companies across several different municipalities, in order to analyze how they’ve changed in recent years. I also worked alongside last year’s Halpenny recipient, Mekha Pereira, to identify the amount of fake turf in Tucson. Using remote sensing data and ArcGIS, I identified patches of fake grass in the backyards of homes all over Tucson. Then I used Google Earth Pro to determine when the fake grass was installed, what it replaced, and the approximate square footage, for hundreds of homes. It was a wonderful opportunity to work in an office environment that was both pleasant and highly focused.
I want to extend a huge thank you to all the support and instruction I received during my internship. It was an incredibly rewarding experience that deepened my understanding of hydrology applications on many levels. I feel extremely lucky to have met such a kind-hearted and motivated group of scientists. Thank you for sharing your time and work with me!