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2025-2026

The Wonders of Wetlands

Educator Workshop

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What is a wetland?

A land area that is flooded or covered by shallow water for all or part of the year (seasonally).

They have hydric soils, unique and often low in oxygen soils that form in waterlogged conditions.

Dominated by hydrophytic (water-loving) plants adapted to saturated soil.

Act as natural filters, protect against floods and provide critical habitats.

They are wet lands.

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Intro Demonstration Video:

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Special Adaptations:

Hydric Soils: are saturated long enough during growing season to create an anaerobic (low oxygen) state in the soil.

Hydrophytic Plants: are plants that have adapted to thrive in wetlands despite the stresses of an anaerobic and flooded environment. They must employ strategies like long, oxygen-transporting tubes (reeds), ability to float (water lilies) or other adaptations.

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Introduction:�Water Moves In Earth's Systems

Investigative Questions

How does water move and change form in the earth’s natural system?
What are the forces that drive the water cycle?
How does a wetland fit within the Arizona Water Cycle?

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Water Movement In the Water Cycle

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Wrap-Up

Energy and Matter

&

Cause and Effect

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Investigative Questions:

How does water move through our local water cycle?

Are you a part of our water cycle ?

Does water move in and out of your body?

We live in a desert:

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What is

evapotranspiration?

What is evaporation?
What is transpiration?
What form is water changing from and into during each process?

This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY

Read slide first – water goes from a liquid into a gas – water vapor. then say what do we get when we combine these two processes?

Evapotranspiration – combining evaporation and transpiration together, which means it is all the water that’s coming off the soil. Overall Evapotranspiration is an important process in the water cycle because it is responsible for a substantial amount of the atmosphere's water vapor. Without that input of water vapor, clouds couldn't form and precipitation wouldn’t fall.

So we are going to look at some climate tables.

More info if needed: They measure evapotranspiration in different ways, but one scientific instrument mainly used by farmers is called an atmometer and is usually used with alfalfa crops or grasses, to get the data for different areas. Another measuring device is called a lysimeter.

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Drought or deluge, rainfall in Arizona tends to be EXTREME.

We tend to either have too little, or too much when it comes to precipitation here.

This is why wetlands play such a vital role in Arizona.

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Watershed Wonders:

WATERSHEDS & WETLANDS

Did you know that with every step that you take, you are always in a watershed?
Do you know the name of your watershed?
Do you know your watershed boundaries?
What exactly is a watershed, and why should you care about it?

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Watersheds Work

�

Investigative Questions

How does water move in a watershed and through a wetland?
Why are wetlands important and what are the ecological functions of that system which contribute to the health of our ecosystem and community?

WATERSHED: Watersheds Work

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WATERSHED: Watersheds Work

What is a Watershed?

A watershed is: a land area that DRAINS to the low points.

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The Activity:

WATERSHED: Watersheds Work

Key/Legend:

Ridges (along upfold) = Green

Valleys (along downfold) = Blue this represents water/wetlands

Optional:

Farms (colored area) = Brown

Old Mines (*) = Red

Cities (#) = Purple

Roads/pavement = Black

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What are we managing when we talk about watershed management?

WATERSHED: Watersheds Work

The land and water in that area.

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Watersheds Work

Investigative Questions

How does human impact on the land affect water and heat within a watershed?
How can we reduce urban runoff and the flow of contaminants from going into our watersheds, wetlands and groundwater?

WATERSHED: Human Impacts

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WATERSHED: Human Impacts

Following the Flow

When rain falls or when snow melts, does the water just sit there? Or does it move? Why?

We know some of it may percolate down through earth materials into the ground, but most of it flows downhill as what?

Runoff is important as it keeps our rivers, lakes wetlands and groundwater full. But…

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PERMEABLE

Water can sink in or percolate into the earth materials, where plants can use it, or it keeps traveling further down to reach groundwater (infiltration).

IMPERMEABLE

Water cannot penetrate or percolate, but rather pools or runs off the surface. These are also called impervious surfaces.

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Too Hot to Handle!

What else happens when we have impermeable surfaces?

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What else happens when city temps are warmer?

Urban Heat Island Effect

Problems associated with urban heat islands: Increased Energy Consumption. Elevated Emissions of Air Pollutants and Greenhouse Gases. Compromised Human Health and Comfort. Impaired Water Quality. more ground-level ozone (smog) will form as the environment becomes sunnier and hotter.

Energy demand increases with high temperatures which causes larger amounts of air pollutants to be released into the air which also increases the temperature.

The UHI effect is caused by changes in the temperature, moisture, and air quality of the city environment. These changes in the environment create a distinct urban boundary layer, or heat dome. This heat dome extends above the city and in windy conditions, can be shifted downwind.

https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/400b68f7aaa143c0bd0d0fd262006087

A heat dome works like a pot with a lid to keep warm air trapped. An area of high pressure will create a lid of stable air in the atmosphere, trapping warm air below that line. The warm air will sink to the surface where it will heat up even more as it becomes compressed from the high pressure. Heat domes happen when strong high pressure atmospheric conditions remain stationary for an unusual amount of time, preventing convection and precipitation and keeping hot air "trapped" within a region.

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Urban Heat & Water

This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-NC

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In our city centers and neighborhoods what happens to that runoff?

Watershed: Human Impacts

Rain

becomes

storm

water!

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What makes storm water a bad thing?

SOIL – SEDIMENTS – ROAD SALT – VEHICLE SPILLS – FERTILIZERS – PET WASTE

– HEATED WATER – GREASE – TRASH – DETERGENT – SOLVENTS

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Where does storm water go?

To our rivers, lakes, and wetlands.

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In low oxygen environments, like wetland soils, bacteria use nitrates, iron, sulfates, and other chemicals instead of oxygen to transfer energy from organic matter. Removing these chemicals from the water is one of the ways wetlands purify water.

WETLANDS: Ecological Functions

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Groundwater Connections

Investigative Question

What is the relationship between groundwater and surface water and what role does this play within a wetland?

GROUNDWATER & WETLANDS

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Let’s

Dig In!

Aquifer

Groundwater moves between the spaces and pores and is pulled down due to gravity. The bigger the spaces between the materials, the faster or easier the water can move around it.

An area where significant groundwater is present. Groundwater flows between layers of earth materials.

Pore Spaces

Groundwater begins as what? Where does it come from? Precipitation Then what happens? Some will run off the land creating puddles, filling up streams, rivers, lakes and wetlands as surface water. Notice where the water table is. Some of the precipitation will also find places to soak down through the earth materials and percolates down becoming groundwater.

Groundwater is what it sounds like - water in the ground that fully saturates (or fills up) the pores or cracks in soils, sand and rocks. Then what is an aquifer?

An aquifer is an underground bed of saturated soil or rock that yields significant quantities of water. Aquifers come in all sizes and their origin and composition are varied. They may be small or very large and can run for thousands of square miles underground all while remaining out of sight.

Lesson 1 of Awesome Aquifer - https://groundwater.org/awesome-aquifer/

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GROUNDWATER & WETLANDS

Surface Water

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How important is groundwater to Arizona?

GROUNDWATER & WETLANDS

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Well, well, well, what do we have here?

How do we access and use groundwater?

Both individual landowners and city municipalities drill wells to access groundwater.�

GROUNDWATER & SUSTAINABILITY

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How do we pump groundwater and why?

GROUNDWATER & SUSTAINABILITY

We use it for drinking water, agriculture, and for pretty much everything else.

Do different places have different amounts of groundwater? Do you think it is evenly distributed under Arizona?

Just like surface water (lakes and rivers), our groundwater is not evenly distributed across the state…

There are many types of wells (some are observation wells so that we can see what is under our feet and some are pumping wells). Some are only 100s of feet deep while others can be 1,000s feet deep. But they all are expensive

A drilled well is constructed by a rotary drilling machine that literally “drills” a hole into the ground until it reaches the underground water source. These types of wells require a casing on the outside of the drilled hole as well as screening to prevent the driving water from being contaminated. The screen also reduces the amount of sediment flowing into the water storage tanks and can also improve the integrity of the well. These types of wells can reach depths up to 1,000 feet. Once the drilled well has been opened, a submersible water pump and piping system are installed and a casing cap is installed on top of the water wells, which also is designed to protect the integrity of the below-ground water source and reduce exposure to chemicals and other contaminants.

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Going, Going, Gone?

Decline & Depletion

What if we just keep pumping and taking groundwater out of the system and there is no rainfall to replenish it?

The water stored in the ground can be compared to money kept in a bank account. If you withdraw money at a faster rate than you deposit new money you will eventually start having account-supply problems. Pumping water out of the ground faster than it is replenished over the long-term causes similar problems. We call this overdraft

Pumping groundwater at a faster rate than it can be recharged can have some negative effects on the environment and the people who use that water:

LOWERING OF THE WATER TABLE – a severe consequence of excessive groundwater pumping is that the water table, below which the ground is saturated with water, can be lowered.

If groundwater levels decline too far, then shallow wells may dry up causing well owners to drill deeper (this is very expensive and not always possible.

We also know if we take too much groundwater it can reduce the amount of water in our streams, rivers, lakes and wetlands.

We also call the area that lowers around the well that is pumping water, a cone of depression…

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GROUNDWATER & WETLANDS

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Sink Holes, Fissures & Land Subsidence, Oh My!

So when we take too much groundwater besides drying up lakes, rivers, and wetlands we can also cause damage to the land! ��This is a 2-mile-long crack that opened in the AZ desert in Pinal County between Casa Grande and Tucson because of groundwater pumping! The land subsided more in one area than in another, so it caused the earth to crack open. We call this a land fissure, and we have no idea if they can be repaired or how to repair them.

The bottom right picture is near Wilcox, AZ where the land has actually started to subside due to over pumping of groundwater. When land subsides, it loses its capacity to hold groundwater, as the spaces between the materials collapse and get smaller and smaller, so we can’t just pump water back into the ground to fix subsidence issues.

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Active Management Area and Irrigation Non-Expansion Area designations
Groundwater pumping limitations
Recharge

GROUNDWATER & WETLANDS

1980 Arizona Groundwater

Management Act

Because of over pumping and the issues we just discussed finally in 1980 The 1980 Arizona Groundwater Management Act (GMA) was passed.

The passing of the 1980 Groundwater Management Act (GMA) was monumental for many reasons. First and foremost, it established laws that enabled the State to manage and protect groundwater for the benefit of all residents across Arizona. It also created provisions to ensure this finite water source was preserved for the future.

It created Active Management Areas (AMAs), which introduced regulation and conservation measures in parts of the state with a history of heavy reliance on groundwater.

There are six AMAs in the state, Prescott, Phoenix, Pinal, Tucson, Santa Cruz and Douglas. Each has its own long-term goal in accordance with the Groundwater code

INAs – are Irrigation Non-expansion areas which prohibit the expansion of new irrigated acreage within established boundaries and require irrigators to report their water use if they pump more than 35 gallons per minute. There are 3 INAs.

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Recharging the Aquifer

GROUNDWATER & WETLANDS

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Recharging the Aquifer

GROUNDWATER & WETLANDS

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GROUNDWATER & WETLANDS

City municipalities are now using reclaimed water to create urban wetlands, creating beautiful bio-diverse habitats while also recharging our groundwater.

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GROUNDWATER & WETLANDS

Cities are now using reclaimed water (it has been cleaned) for recharge basins and urban wetlands.

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GROUNDWATER & WETLANDS

Does groundwater pollution stay in one place?
Why would this matter when we are talking about wetlands?

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GROUNDWATER & WETLANDS

Watch the Series of Arizona Groundwater Videos – an APW & ADWR joint project.

Other activities from

WOW Guide:

Soak It Up pg.162
Water Under Foot pg. 204
Runoff Race pg. 210 (WOW)
Wetlands in a Pan pg. 212
Nature’s Filter pg. 250

Activities:

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Creating a functional oasis of life in the extreme Sonoran Desert.

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We all have a role:

SUSTAINABILITY & STEWARDSHIP:

The quality of water in a river, wetland or in our groundwater is influenced by both natural factors and how people use the land around it.

Everyone is responsible for the health of the watershed and the water systems within it.

Our actions, good or bad, have an impact on our water supply and communities.

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There is hope! What do we notice in 1980? Passes the 1980 Groundwater Management Act…

1980 we had 2.7 million people but we were using over 9 million acre-feet of water in 2019 we have over 7 million people and we are using under 7 million acre-feet of water – that is pretty incredible

through significant investments in water conservation and infrastructure and the reuse of water, our water use is essentially the same as it was more than half a century ago. The more we learn, then the better we understand how the systems are connected and that we have are part of them. And when we know better, we can do better and together we can make a difference!

What is an acre foot of water? = enough water to cover an acre of land a foot deep = 326,000 gallons (about the size of a football field a foot deep).

According to the ADWR – The average number of homes served annually by an acre-foot of water actually increases to 3.5 when all of Arizona’s five “Active Management Areas” are taken into account. There are many variables but this is how cities look at development of new homes.

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Splashing into Solutions

You Have the Power!

What is Water Conservation?

What is Water Efficiency?

Beneficial reduction in water loss, waste, or use by changing behavior to take less water.

Minimize the amount of water used to accomplish a function or task. Doing the same or more with less water. This often relies on well-engineered products and fixtures or technology.

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SUSTAINABILITY & STEWARDSHIP:

Your daily choices and actions can add up to make a positive difference.

BE THE TIDAL WAVE OF CHANGE!