AHS congratulates Charles “Chuck” Graf, the latest recipient of our Lifetime Achievement Award (LAA). The award was presented to him at this year’s annual symposium in Phoenix.
Photo by Shawn Calendine
Chuck earned a B.S.E. in engineering science from ASU and has been intimately involved in Arizona hydrology ever since. A Registered Geologist in Arizona, he has served as a mentor to many hydrologists and natural resource professionals throughout the state.
During a career that has spanned four decades, Chuck worked with various state agencies: the Arizona Water Commission, ADWR, Arizona Department of Health Services, Arizona Water Institute (Associate Director), and ADEQ (Water Quality Division Deputy Director). He participated in or led water rights investigations, basin groundwater studies, and remedial investigations for State and Federal Superfund sites. He also developed Arizona’s early health-based guidance levels and groundwater protection levels.
Chuck was instrumental in establishing the Unified Water Quality Permit Rewrite Steering Committee to review existing water permitting processes. His accomplishments also include developing rules that modernized the state’s aquifer protection permit and reclaimed water programs based on stakeholder recommendations. He was closely involved with the Governor’s Blue Ribbon Panel on Water Sustainability and ADEQ’s Advisory Panel on Emerging Contaminants, staffing both, which documented the available information on emerging contaminants in Arizona’s water supplies. As a weekend volunteer, Chuck is part of a team that documented the hydrology of Kartchner Caverns, which led to its protection and creation as an Arizona State Park. Most recently, Chuck led the effort to revise Arizona’s rules governing the reuse of reclaimed water and graywater and to establish them in a new recycled water framework.
The LAA honors individuals who have contributed to AHS or to the science of hydrology within Arizona and/or who have received national renown for their contributions in the field. The award consists of a personal recognition plaque, a traveling plaque listing all past recipients, and a $500 check to an Arizona educational organization of the recipient’s choice. AHS has awarded a dozen LAAs since 1995. To see a complete list and learn more, visit our LAA page.