Join us for two concurrent panels — one on surface recharge technologies and another on ASR wells.

Given the uncertainty of surface water and groundwater supplies due to climatic changes, these panels focus on how to manage our resources and access / manage aquifers in the future. Both California and Arizona — leaders in managing aquifers — store large volumes of treated surface water supplies and purified reclaimed water to mitigate drought and sustain economic growth. We will discuss technical, regulatory, and operational “lessons learned” and inspire our professional community on how to build upon our resource management strategies and improve operational efficiencies.

Surface recharge technologies 

Moderator: Chad LaPora (Tucson Water)

Chad Lapora, the current Administrator for Tucson Water’s Source Water Division, is responsible for MAR of the utility’s surface and recycled water resources. He has been with Tucson Water for over 20 years. Chad is also responsible for water resource management and development activities that are designed to broaden and deepen the utility’s portfolio to promote an assured water supply for the region. His previous experience focused on drinking water and environmental compliance; he also served as the Tucson Water TARP EPA Superfund Coordinator.

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Lacey James (Salt River Project)

Lacey James has been with SRP for 2 years as a Senior Water Resource Analyst on the Aquifer Management, Water Stewardship team. She is the project manager of SRP’s two regional recharge projects. Her previous work history includes 13 years with the City of Peoria along with a stint as Water Resource Manager for the City of Avondale. Lacey has a bachelor’s degree from NAU in Public Administration. She holds several certifications: Water Management Certification (ASU), Certified Public Manager (ASU), Grade 4 Water Distribution System Operator, and Grade 4 Wastewater Collections Systems Operator (ADEQ).

Shannon Reif (Arizona Department of Water Resources) 

Shannon Reif has 24 years of experience with ADWR, steadily progressing through various programs within the Department, including Water Quality, Well Permitting, and Hydrology before settling into the Recharge Program in 2011. As the Manager of the Recharge and Recovery Program, Shannon leads the team responsible for permitting underground storage and recovery of renewable water supplies in Arizona. Her team also administers the statewide accounting system for the long-term storage credits that are generated from the storage of water. Shannon earned her BS in geology from ASU.

Adam Hutchinson (Orange County Water District)

Adam Hutchinson is the Recharge Planning Manager for OCWD in southern California. He has over 30 years water resources experience. In his 20 years at the District, he has worked as Director of Recharge Operations and as Senior Hydrogeologist. He has an undergraduate degree in geology, a master’s degree in hydrology from the UA. Adam is a Professional Geologist (PG) and Certified Hydrogeologist (CHG) in the state of California.

Phil Bachand (Bachand Associates)

Philip Bachand has focused on developing science and engineering strategies to manage water quality and water resources. His efforts include developing wetland management practices to remove nitrate in OCWD’s Prado Basin wetlands to benefit its downstream recharge basins. He has also developed strategies for promoting accretion in peatlands and managing Hg cycling on rice farms and for integrating coagulation and wetland processes to sequester phosphorus from surface waters. A pioneer of on-farm recharge, Phil leads the McMullin Projects programs and the Alexander Valley OFR Initiative.

Injection wells 

Moderator: Gary Gin (LRE Water)

Gary Gin, LRE’s ASR Practice Leader, has 25 years of extensive experience in water resources planning and economic studies associated with recharge systems. With over 8,000 operational hours of ASR wells, he was instrumental in the initial testing of glass beads as a filter pack media to optimize bidirectional flow. He is now working on bridging the water/power nexus with advancing power generation during recharge operations. Gary is currently serving as the Technical Program Manager for several municipal Indirect Potable Reuse (IPR) aquifer replenishment well-fields.

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David Pyne (ASR Systems)

David Pyne (ASR Systems LLC) has pioneered the development of ASR science and technology since about 1980 in the U.S. and several other countries. He has directed or made significant contributions to the feasibility studies, design, permitting, construction, and operation of more than 100 ASR wells and wellfields nationwide. He has presented many ASR workshops during the past 30 years. David is a civil engineer with BSCE from Duke University, MSE (water resources) from the University of Florida and a registered professional engineer in several states.

Dean Alford (City of Tempe)

Dean Alford manages Tempe’s groundwater portfolio and infrastructure. He applies his expertise to production well, recharge, and water quality projects, among others. Recently, Dean has been operating and managing the City’s injection well field using technology to sustain consistent recharge operations. He’s also developing data visualization dashboards to enhance the operator / manager interface and improve decision making for backwash and recharge operations. With a BS in geology and MS degrees in geology and geochemistry from New Mexico Tech, he has worked on over 300 production and recharge projects.

Tracey Carpenter (Arizona Department of Water Resources) 

Ms. Carpenter, a hydrogeologist with ADWR, has been administering the technical aspects of the state’s Recharge and Recovery Program for over 20 years. Currently, she provides hydrologic and programmatic expertise for groundwater recharge projects, develops new approaches to analyzing complex hydrologic conditions and unique groundwater recharge problems, and develops, interprets, and implements ADWR policies. Tracey earned her BS in geology from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire and her MS in stable isotope geochemistry from ASU.