Kazakhstan delegation visits Yuma Area Office
Water leaders from Kazakhstan recently visited the United States in search of information on "Trans-boundary Water Management." After spending time in Washington, D.C., the group traveled to Phoenix and met with City officials, as well as Arizona State University, Nature Conservancy of Arizona, and Central Arizona Project (CAP) representatives. While at CAP, managers there suggested a stop be made in Yuma, Arizona, for a tour of the Yuma Desalting Plant (YDP). In Kazakhstan, the Aral Sea presents water supply, water quality, and air quality challenges for the Kazakhstan government and its people. The attention of the water leaders was directed toward the processes of how to recover irrigation return flows while considering environmental issues. 
At the Yuma Area Office (YAO), Mechanical Engineer Charles McCaughey, assisted by Program Analyst June Wolfe, shared information about YAO's history of the plant, and the conventional pretreatment and reverse osmosis processes used to desalt irrigation return flows in a classroom style presentation. Yuma’s stormy weather subsided long enough for a walking-tour of the plant, which the group thoroughly enjoyed. They noted this combination of classroom and field tour experience was what they were really looking for. Through two interpreters, McCaughey and Wolfe also discussed the YAO water delivery mission, process to meet Treaty obligations, and methods used to address salinity challenges and reach solutions. The group continued on to El Centro and San Diego to complete their tour studying U.S. water management practices.
|
Search Reclamation