Leonard Halpenny (1915–2000) was a pioneer in the science of hydrology in Arizona. Originally employed part-time with the USGS as a “hydrographer” while in college, he became a full-time USGS employee in Texas in 1938. In 1939, the USGS transferred him to Arizona to participate in groundwater depletion studies statewide. This work led to the publication of Ground Water Resources of the Santa Cruz Basin. He participated in numerous USGS studies, and was appointed as Assistant District Engineer of the USGS in Tucson in 1946. He became the District Chief in 1951.
After leaving the USGS in the late 1950s, he established Water Development Corporation, a consulting firm. In 1958, he served as a member of the CAP litigation team in San Francisco. In the 1970s, Leonard lobbied for passage of the Subdivision Rules of 1972, which prevented the construction of residential subdivisions without proof of water supply. He also influenced the initial recognition of effluent water as a resource in Arizona. Leonard not only served as Special Master from 1973–1978 on Caeppert v. U.S. (the landmark case defining federal water rights in the U.S.) but he also testified in the Gila River adjudication on the distinction between groundwater and surface water.
Leonard Halpenny made many other contributions to advancements in the field of hydrology and, in 1995, he was awarded the first Lifetime Achievement Award by AHS. He used the monetary award to initiate this scholarship in 1996. Leonard’s incredible wealth of knowledge, philanthropy and amiable nature are greatly missed by the hydrologic community in Arizona.
