The River of Time Museum & Exploration Center in partnership with the Fountain Hills branch of the Maricopa County Library system will celebrate World Water Day by hosting renowned journalist and public speaker, Debra Krol.

The event takes place in the Museum/Library lobby conference room Friday, March 22, beginning at 10 a.m.

Debra Utacia Krol is an award-winning journalist with an emphasis on Indigenous, environmental and science issues who’s fond of saying, “My beat is Indians,” according to a press release.

Krol also worked as a reporter for Fort McDowell’s tribal newspaper from 2002 to 2007 and occasionally filled in as a tribal spokesperson, according to usatoday.com.

Krol is an enrolled member of the Xolon (also known as Jolon) Salinan Tribe from the Central California coastal ranges.

In addition to more than a dozen awards including the National Press Foundation’s Feddie Award, Nina Mason Pulliam Environmental Reporting Award, Society of Environmental Journalists Award and the Society of Features Journalism, Krol was named Best Beat Environmental Reporter by the Native American Journalists Association.

Krol is a reporter for the Arizona Republic newspaper reporting on environmental topics facing Arizona and also water and land use issues affecting Indigenous communities.

She is a California native and a beadwork artist. She formerly served as marketing director for the Heard Museum in Phoenix.

Celebrate World Water Day

World Water Day is an annual United Nations Observance held every year on March 22, focusing on the importance of freshwater, coordinated by UN-Water and led by one or more UN-Water members and partners with a related mandate, the press release said.

A core focus of World Water Day is to support the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6: water and sanitation for all by 2030, the release added.

World Water Day theme

The 2024 World Water Day theme is “Water for Peace.”

Water can create peace or spark conflict, the release said, adding that when water is scarce or polluted, or when people have unequal or no access, tensions can rise between communities and countries.

More than three billion people worldwide depend on water that crosses national borders, yet only 24 countries have cooperation agreements for all their shared water, the release said.

As climate change impacts increase and populations grow, there is an urgent need within and between countries to unite around protecting and conserving our most precious resource, the release added.

Public health and prosperity, food and energy systems, economic productivity and environmental integrity all rely on a well-functioning and equitably managed water cycle, said the release.

The event is free and open to the public but seats are limited.

Reservations are required and can be made at riveroftime.center, by calling the River of Time at 480-837-2612 or by stopping in Wednesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The community is invited to come celebrate the global resource and explore its effects on life in the Lower Verde River Valley.