Managed Aquifer Recharge (MAR) has long been utilized to help meet water management objectives. In 1978, the first symposium on artificial recharge was held in Phoenix, Arizona.
January 08, 2021
Reclamation Article Series, Part 4: Arizona Basin Studies - Commonalities
The following is the final installment of a four-part article series from our valued colleagues at the US Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation). The series covers the three Basin Studies currently underway in Arizona. John Rasmussen, Eve Halper, and Valerie Swick, Water Resource Planners at Reclamation, authored the series.
Over the past three issues of the Weekly Wave, an article on each of Arizona’s three WaterSMART (Sustain and Manage America’s Resources for Tomorrow) Basin Studies (Basin Studies) was presented. The three Basin Studies are the West Salt River Valley, the Lower Santa Cruz River, and the Eloy and Maricopa-Stanfield. While each of these studies is at different stages in their analyses, they all have the same end goal: developing strategies to adapt to a changing water future. A common aspect of that future is the likelihood of less water in the Lower Colorado River system as a result of drought. These changes take place within a complicated context of water law and regulations, variable local climates, prolonged drought, and dynamic demand patterns.
Fortunately, the Basin Studies have access to a tool developed by the Central Arizona Project (CAP) called the CAP:Service Area Model (CAP:SAM), which takes into account the complex regulatory landscape faced by water providers within Arizona’s Active Management Areas. CAP:SAM uses sets of assumptions that include rates of population and economic growth to estimate future municipal, industrial, and agricultural demands by water provider. The model also simulates how water providers may substitute water supplies to meet demand when their preferred source of supply is not available.
CAP:SAM is being used to estimate future water demand for all three Basin Studies. Reclamation modeling complements the CAP:SAM projections by translating water provider demands into site-specific models of groundwater pumping and recharge. Groundwater model output shows the locations where groundwater levels may change, allowing for an evaluation of risks to water infrastructure and other resources. These results also form the basis for developing and screening adaptation strategies.
Each Basin Study relies upon collaboration and cooperation among its stakeholders to characterize the issues and adaptation approaches unique to each basin. The West Salt River Valley Basin Study focuses on the tremendous growth of Phoenix’s West Valley and the need for safe and reliable water. The Lower Santa Cruz River Basin Study is concerned with changes to the local climate, within-basin supply-demand imbalances, and impacts to the environment, especially riparian areas. The Eloy and Maricopa-Stanfield Basin Study tries to balance agriculture, the basin’s number one industry, with population and economic growth.
Each Basin Study will result in an increased knowledge base, development of planning tools, and a set of strategies to inform and prioritize future actions. Reclamation intends to remain involved in the basins after the studies are complete and will promote post-study opportunities to benefit stakeholders. For instance, entities that have completed a Basin Study may apply for Reclamation’s Water Management Options Pilot Program to build on analyses and strategies developed in the Basin Study. For more information about this and other WaterSMART programs, go to https://www.usbr.gov/watersmart/index.html.
Recent News
April 09, 2021
Next Generation Leader at the WRRC
Ashley Hullinger, WRRC Research Analyst and 2020 Flinn-Brown Fellow, was named by BizTucson Magazine as one of Tucson’s Next Generation of Leaders.
March 29, 2021
WRITING INTERNSHIP - SUMMER 2021
The University of Arizona’s Water Resources Research Center is offering a paid summer internship for a student who wants to gain experience writing about environmental and water issues. The selected intern will contribute to research and writing for an issue of Arroyo, the annual WRRC publication that focuses on a critical Arizona water issue. Arroyo is recognized as a source of objective, accurate, and understandable information and reaches a wide audience that includes policy makers and water professionals as well as the interested public.
March 22, 2021
Water Drops to Water Towers
APW is celebrating Fix a Leak Week (March 15-19) all semester! In partnership with the Town of Gilbert, we’re using a Project WET lesson called Every Drop Counts to virtually bring meaningful learning to fourth-grade students. In this lesson, students measure a hypothetical leak and extrapolate that very small leak to observe how drops can quickly lead to gallons. If we measure an average individual leak of 2.4 teaspoons per minute, students can use math to figure out how much water that would yield in an hour (144 tsp), a day (3,456 tsp), and a year (1,261,440 tsp).
March 19, 2021
Panel Discussion on Regional Water Sustainability
On Wednesday, March 17, the Arizona Institutes for Resilience, in partnership with the WRRC and the Udall Center for Studies in Public Policy, hosted the first episode of the Water Solutions for Our Warmer World webinar series.