Ms. Anides-Morales working with Dr. Laura Norman, in cooperation with the Office of International Programs (OIP) and other international partners to understand the hydrologic impacts of natural infrastructure in dryland streams (NIDS). The study area is at a remote ranch in Baja California Sur, Mexico. NIDS are made from rock, sandbags and wood installed in channels and hillslopes of the watershed. USGS established a paired watershed study (before-and-after/ control), with instrumentation to capture real-time water levels, discharge, and recharge, and developing basin models of groundwater-surface water interactions to understand and quantify the impacts that NIDS have on the hydrologic cycle and aquifer infiltration. 

Ms. Anides-Morales presented her preliminary results of a soil and water assessment to document variations in land-use and water management practices that spatially correlate with regional hydrodynamics of recharge and ecosystem restoration at the University of Arizona's Water Resources Research Center (WRRC) 2024 Annual Conference, "Implementing Water Solutions Through Partnerships", on March 12–13. This year’s conference program focused on how solutions to Arizona’s water resources concerns are being realized, with a request for posters that highlight projects that emphasize cooperation, coordination, and collaboration. With an ever-increasing need for water resources globally, the research conducted is expected to be of interest, and have application, to other dryland regions.

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Alma Anides-Morales won 1^st place for her poster at the University of Arizona’s Water Research Conference (Photo by James Leenhouts, USGS).

This research is supported by U.S. Water Partnership and Innovaciones Alumbra. For more information, visit the project website: Los Planes Watershed -- Water Cycle Augmentation | U.S. Geological Survey (usgs.gov).