About the Region 9 Water Program

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Who We Are
The Southwest States & Pacific Islands (Region 9) Water Program (SSPIWP) is a partnership among the Land Grant Institutions (LGIs) in four southwest states (Arizona, California, Hawaii, and Nevada), six Pacific islands (American Samoa, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Guam, Republic of the Marshall Islands, and Republic of Palau), and two Indian Nations (Navajo and Tohono O’odham), and the USDA NIFA National Integrated Water Quality Program. We deliver and share research, education, and outreach programs that either lead directly to cleaner water or increase the capacity of people to manage water resources.

For an idea of spatial range, consider that the region:

Covers seven time zones, including both sides of the International Date Line.
Covers territories in both the northern and southern hemispheres of the world.
Includes small islands and the third largest state in the country.
Includes Pacific islands scattered over an area larger than the contiguous United States.

Within this spatial diversity, are climatic extremes of arid deserts and island areas where annual precipitation can exceed 40 feet. Despite great spatial, climatic, geologic, and cultural diversity within the region, common problems exist on issues related to both water quantity and water quality. By working together as a region, we gain collaborative knowledge and resources that can be used to address issues that exist on a region-wide scale.

What We Do
The Program provides leadership for water resources research, education, and outreach to help people, industry, and governments across the region prevent and solve current and emerging water quality and quantity problems.

Three major goals of the Southwest States and Pacific Islands Region are:

1. To identify and prioritize regional water quality concerns, and facilitate resource sharing through regional coordination, communication, and planning.
2. To create a watershed-based, geo-referenced, central reporting system to serve as the repository for regional water quality information and resources.
3. To implement regionally coordinated Extension, Research and Formal Education programs which effectively address water quality issues while minimizing duplication of effort.

To meet these goals, the network of extension and research personnel with the Land Grant Universities in the Southwest States and Pacific Islands Region are responding to water quality issues through technology development, technology transfer, and educational programs. By working together on such programs, we:

Streamline the implementation of water quality improvement plans and provide access to current information to all communities within the region;
Develop and distribute educational resources such as fact sheets, brochures, manuals, formal and informal classroom activities, workshops, conferences, and websites;
Share information and resources within and among watersheds with similar environmental concerns, thus reducing duplication of effort and streamlining implementation of improvement plans;
Benefit from collaborative knowledge and resources to address issues that exist on a region-wide scale; and
Ensure that the goal of access to education and information regarding safe drinking water for all communities is met.

Logic Model
A logic model help to plan, implement, evaluate, and communicate more effectively. As part of our requirements of the grant, the Region 9 Water Quality Team has prepared a logic model for the regional project [PDF]. For more information on logic models, please refer to the University of Wisconsin-Extension, Program Development and Evaluation website [http://www.uwex.edu/ces/pdande/evaluation/evallogicmodel.html]

This material is based upon work supported by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, U.S. Department of Agriculture, under Agreement Number 2009-51130-06048.