G.E.P. Smith: Tucson Hydrologist

Pima County Regional Flood Control District Monthly Brown Bag Webinar

Note: Back by popular demand this month, and hopefully all future seminars, is going to be hybrid. Grab some lunch and join us in the large conference room at the Flood Control District or join us via Teams from your office!

Speaker: Julia Fonseca

George Edson Philip Smith (1873-1975) shaped the world that we as Arizona hydrologists inherited. He authored the 1919 Water Code for the State of Arizona. As head of the department of agricultural engineering at UA’s Agricultural Experiment Station, he pioneered technologies for the expansion of Arizona agriculture, particularly through the use of groundwater. He defined recharge rates and safe yield for various groundwater basins and helped develop Arizona’s earliest groundwater regulations.

This talk will focus on his work and his travels in the Santa Cruz watershed, and the origins of stream gaging in the area.

The story of his life reveals much about the forces that affected development of the state, federal and civic institutions in Arizona. His example shows how a professional embedded in a large bureaucracy can play important roles in civic life.

Julia Fonseca is a hydrologist, recently retired from Pima County but consulting as Madrean Resources. At RFCD, she was the project manager for various recharge feasibility studies and projects in the Tucson area. As an environmental planning manager, she helped to develop RFCD and County programs for riparian restoration, native plant protection, and compliance with various federal environmental laws.

________________________________________________________________________________

Microsoft Teams meeting: Click here to join
Meeting ID: 220 175 606 128 | Passcode: LroRie

Or call in (audio only): +1 602-649-0382,,956282610#