Blogs
On the frontlines with ADWR during National Groundwater Awareness Week
More than perhaps any other state agency, the Arizona Department of Water Resources is committed to the protection of our State’s groundwater resources. We are a creation of one of the most far-sighted laws in the nation created in defense of its groundwater — the Arizona Groundwater Management Act of 1980 — and we take that mission to defend Arizona’s water resources seriously. No agency is more… aware of the importance of groundwater than ADWR.
In this podcast recognizing National Groundwater Awareness Week, we have asked an ADWR employee on the front lines of groundwater management about his duties, and about what those tasks mean to him. Scott Stuk is head of ADWR’s basic-data group in the Field Services Division. Scott took a few moments during Groundwater Awareness Week to talk about what he does for a living… and what he believes it means to Arizona.
Arizona Department of Water Resources field hydrologists conducting “basin sweep” to collect water level measurements in the Dripping Spring Wash, Aravaipa Canyon, Donnelly Wash and Lower San Pedro Basins
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE March 11, 2021
Arizona Department of Water Resources field hydrologists conducting “basin sweep” to collect water level measurements in the Dripping Spring Wash, Aravaipa Canyon, Donnelly Wash and Lower San Pedro BasinsPHOENIX – Beginning the week of March 8, 2021, and continuing for several months, Arizona Department of Water Resources (ADWR) field services staff will be making an extensive effort to measure water levels in wells in the Dripping Spring Wash, Aravaipa Canyon, Donnelly Wash and Lower San Pedro Basins. ADWR staff will attempt to measure water levels at hundreds of wells in these groundwater basins. This survey of wells – or basin “sweep,” as it is known — will be the first such basin survey since 2006 for the Lower San Pedro Basin and since 1996 for Dripping Spring Wash, Aravaipa Canyon, and Donnelly Wash Basins. The data collected will be analyzed and used to obtain a comprehensive overview of the groundwater conditions, as well as to support scientific and water management planning efforts. Data collected will be used for several purposes, including:
- Analysis of water-level trends
- Groundwater modeling
- Water-level change maps
- Hydrologic reports
- Water resource planning and management.
This basin sweep covers an area generally in the southeastern portion of the state and extends east of Florence and Tucson, west of Safford, north of Benson and south of Globe-Miami.
For more information regarding the planned basin sweep, see ADWR Public Information Officer Shauna Evans at [email protected] or (602) 771-8079. Details about the nature of basin sweeps and groundwater modeling can be found here.
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David Snider, long-time Pinal County leader on water issues, unexpectedly passes away
David Snider, whose work on water issues for his constituents in Pinal County earned him the respect and admiration of water-community leaders throughout the state, passed away early January 22 following emergency surgery.
A member of the Pinal County Board of Supervisors for two terms, Mr. Snider also was a long-standing member of the Pinal Active Management Area Groundwater Users Advisory Council at the time of his passing.
Groundwater user advisory councils were created as part of the landmark 1980 Groundwater Management Act. There are five such councils statewide – one in each of Arizona’s five Active Management Areas.
As gubernatorial appointees to the Pinal AMA council, Mr. Snider and his colleagues on the five-member council provided advice and recommendations on the groundwater management programs and policies within the AMA. Appointed to the GUAC in 2006, Mr. Snider during that time served as both vice-chair and chair of the council.
Mr. Snider was a long-standing member of the Pinal Active Management Area Groundwater Users Advisory Council at the time of his passing.
Mr. Snider’s involvement in Pinal-area water issues was extensive.
He served for a time on the Local Drought Impact Group in Pinal County. LDIGs are county-level groups that coordinate drought public awareness, provide impact assessment information to local and state leaders, and implement and initiate local mitigation and response options.
In addition, he also served on the Pinal County Water Augmentation Authority, a group dedicated to supporting the development of responsible, collaborative, and sustainable water planning and management in the Pinal AMA.
Mr. Snider’s dedication to his Pinal County community extended well beyond his work on water-related issues.
The City of Casa Grande library director for 26 years, also served for many years on the Casa Grande Elementary School District Governing Board in addition to his service as a county supervisor.
A fuller depiction of Mr. Snider’s community leadership can be found here
Press Release: Arizona Department of Water Resources field hydrologists conducting “basin sweep” to collect water level measurements in the Willcox, Douglas, San Bernardino Valley and San Simon basins
Arizona Department of Water Resources field hydrologists conducting “basin sweep” to collect water level measurements in the Willcox, Douglas, San Bernardino Valley and San Simon basins
Phoenix – Beginning the week of January 4, 2021, and continuing for several months, Arizona Department of Water Resources (ADWR) field services staff will be making an extensive effort to measure water levels in wells in the Willcox, Douglas, San Bernardino Valley and San Simon basins.
ADWR staff will attempt to measure water levels at hundreds of wells in these groundwater basins. This survey of wells – or basin “sweep,” as it is known — will be the first such basin survey of the area since 2015. The data collected will be analyzed and used to obtain a comprehensive overview of the groundwater conditions and to support scientific and water management planning efforts. Uses of the data will include:
- Analysis of water-level trends
- Groundwater modeling
- Water-level change maps
- Hydrologic reports
- Water resource planning and management
The general area covered by this basin sweep is the southeastern portion of the state and extends from the U.S. – Mexico border to north of Willcox, Bowie and San Simon.
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For more information regarding the planned basin sweep, see ADWR Public Information Officer Shauna Evans at [email protected] or (602) 771-8079. Details about the nature of basin sweeps and groundwater modeling can be found here.
Press Release: Arizona Water Resources Director recommends approving a Colorado River water transfer to the Town of Queen Creek
Arizona Water Resources Director recommends approving a Colorado River water transfer to the Town of Queen Creek
Phoenix – The Arizona Department of Water Resources has recommended that the Secretary of the Interior approve a partial transfer of GSC Farm, LLC’s fourth priority Colorado River water entitlement to the Town of Queen Creek from farmland in the Cibola area of La Paz County.
In a letter dated September 4, 2020, ADWR Director Tom Buschatzke recommended approval of a transfer of 1,078.1 acre-feet per year.
Director Buschatzke based the decision to approve only a part of GSC’s requested 2,083.1 acre-feet per year on the need to retain water to serve future housing development on the property without negatively impacting other Colorado River users.
“In evaluating this application, as well as any future applications, the Department must weigh many competing factors including the beneficial use of the water after the transfer and any potential impacts on the western Arizona communities who rely on the Colorado River,” said Director Buschatzke.
“In this case a partial transfer allows the Town of Queen Creek to meet objectives in the 1980 Groundwater Management Act while avoiding negative impacts for established agricultural economies and growing urban areas in western Arizona.”
A copy of Director Buschatzke’s letter to the Secretary of the Interior can be found here.
In advance of the decision, ADWR organized a series of four public meetings in Phoenix, Bullhead City, Parker and Yuma. Further, a public comment period was provided that was subsequently extended 30 days and, then, an additional 45 days.
As part of the robust evaluation process the Department’s policy requires an evaluation of whether the proposed transfer will have “potential negative impacts to the water supplies of other Colorado River entitlement holders.” The Department concluded that there would be no such impacts.
Upon receiving the Director’s recommendation, the Secretary of the Interior will be responsible for making the final decision, including performing any National Environmental Protection Act (NEPA) compliance actions.
Drawing on public comments received during the evaluation process, the Department has updated its substantive policy statement governing future transfers to explicitly rule out transfers out of state, and to include additional criteria regarding western Arizona communities. The updated policy statement can be found here.
Background
The Director’s recommendation concludes a 13-month public process.
Arizona statute requires a non-federal Arizona entity such as GSC Farm, LLC seeking to transfer a Colorado River water entitlement to “cooperate, confer with and obtain the advice of the Director” of ADWR.
ADWR’s Substantive Policy Statement CR10 sets forth the criteria to evaluate a proposed transfer, including potential negative impacts to the water supplies of other Colorado River entitlement holders and other impacts that could occur from the transfer. Those potential impacts to on-river entitlement holders represented a substantial part of testimony provided during the public hearings.
ADWR’s Policy Statement provides that after evaluating a proposed transfer and public comments, “the Director will recommend to the Secretary the appropriate redistribution of mainstream Colorado River water supplies consistent with the policies and laws of the state.”
On August 1, 2019, GSC and Queen Creek submitted a request for consultation to ADWR for a proposed transfer of 2,087.86 acre-feet of fourth priority Colorado River water. Queen Creek is seeking the water to aid in providing resilience and stability for its long-term municipal water needs and to lessen its reliance on pumped groundwater, a primary goal of Arizona’s landmark 1980 Groundwater Management Act.
The 4th Priority entitlement is currently used to irrigate land owned by GSC within the Cibola Valley Irrigation and Drainage District (CVIDD) in La Paz County, south of Blythe, California.
For further information, contact Shauna Evans, Water Resources Public Information Officer, at [email protected] or Doug MacEachern, Water Resources Communications Administrator at [email protected]
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Statement on the Bureau of Reclamation’s August 24-Month Study
PHOENIX – The United States Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) has released its August 24 Month Study, which projects Colorado River operations for the next two years. The study projects the operating conditions of the Colorado River system, as well as runoff and reservoir conditions. The Upper Basin experienced around average snowpack (107%) this year, and the April-July inflow into Lake Powell came in at 52% of average. The below-average projection was due to extremely hot and dry conditions in the Upper Basin during the spring and summer of 2020. Consistent with the 2007 Interim Guidelines, Lake Powell will operate under an annual release of 8.23 million acre-feet in water year 2021 with a potential of an April adjustment up to 9.0 million acre-feet.
The August 24 Month Study projects Lake Mead’s January 1, 2021 elevation to be 1085.28 feet, putting Lake Mead in a Tier Zero condition for 2021. The Study also projects a Tier Zero condition for Lake Mead in 2022 with the projected January 1, 2022 elevation of 1086.90 feet. Tier Zero conditions require a 192,000 acre-foot reduction in Arizona’s 2.8 million acre-foot allocation. The Lower Colorado River Basin is in Tier Zero for 2020. The August 24 month study projects that the Lower Colorado River Basin will remain in the Tier Zero condition in 2021.
“This is more evidence that the Drought Contingency Plan that was approved by the Arizona Legislature and signed by Governor Ducey in early 2019 was a success,” said Tom Buschatzke, Director of the Arizona Department of Water Resources.
“Its implementation offsets potentially deeper cuts in Arizona’s Colorado River allocation beyond the 192,000 acre-feet that the State annually has stored in Lake Mead for several years.”
These reductions will fall entirely on Central Arizona Project (CAP) supplies, impacting CAP supplies for water banking, replenishment and agricultural users. The Tier Zero reductions will not impact tribal or municipal CAP water users.
While the Tier Zero reductions are significant, they are part of broader efforts being implemented to reduce the near-term risks of deeper reductions to Arizona’s Colorado River supplies. In addition to the Tier Zero reductions to CAP supplies, other programs to conserve and store water are being implemented in Arizona.
These include programs with the Colorado River Indian Tribes, Gila River Indian Community, the Arizona Department of Water Resources (ADWR), and the Central Arizona Water Conservation District (CAWCD), as well as Reclamation. Including the 192,000 acre-foot allocation reduction, Arizona entities conserved a total of 385,000 acre-feet in Lake Mead in 2020.
The August 24 Month Study shows that in the near term, the programs being implemented in Arizona and across the Colorado River system, along with favorable hydrology, have helped avoid a near-term crisis in the Colorado River system. However, we continue to face significant near-term and long-term risks to Arizona’s Colorado River supplies. We have much more work to do to address our shared risks. ADWR and CAWCD have jointly convened Arizona water stakeholders to address these risks and to prepare for new negotiations regarding the long-term operating rules on the Colorado River.
See also:
ADWR Colorado River Current Conditions:
https://new.azwater.gov/crm/dashboard
Bureau of Reclamation August 24-Month Study: https://www.usbr.gov/lc/region/g4000/24mo.pdf
For more information regarding this matter, please contact Doug MacEachern, Communications Administrator at [email protected]
ARC technical work group meeting to be livestreamed
The initial meeting of the Arizona Reconsultation Committee’s “Modeling and Analysis Work Group” is scheduled for Thursday, July 30, starting at 10 a.m.
The livestream can be accessed here just before the meeting begins.
The Modeling and Analysis Work Group will provide a fact basis to inform ARC discussions. It will examine risks, vulnerabilities and impacts to Arizona’s overall Colorado River supply, on-river priorities and users, and Central Arizona Project priorities and users. The Work Group will consider a broad range of future river conditions.
The Work Group meeting will livestreamed, but not recorded. Non-delegate observers will be afforded an opportunity to provide input.
Press Release: A Statement on the 40th Anniversary of Arizona Groundwater Management Act of 1980
A Statement on the 40th Anniversary of Arizona Groundwater Management Act of 1980
June 10, 2020 – Friday, June 12, marks the 40th anniversary of the Arizona Groundwater Management Act of 1980, the law that changed the trajectory of water use in Arizona.
The 1980 Act was – and remains — the most sweeping state law in the Nation governing groundwater use. In addition to creating a coherent, manageable system for helping wean Arizona’s most populous regions from groundwater use, it enacted the framework for long-term groundwater-use reduction that continues to the present.
“In Arizona, we stand on the shoulders of giants — pragmatic, visionary leaders whose achievements have shown us the way and enabled our high quality of life,” said Governor Doug Ducey.
“Last year, we followed their example by coming together—Republicans and Democrats—to pass Arizona’s Drought Contingency Plan. We will continue to be guided by a spirit of collaboration and cooperation as we build on the work of those who came before us and secure Arizona’s water future for generations to come.”
As part of the 1980 Act, the Arizona Department of Water Resources was created to enforce the Act in the regions of the State that would become known as “Active Management Areas.” The Department also was charged with taking responsibility for managing Arizona’s allocation of Colorado River water.
In 1980, Arizona water use was on a path to exceed 10 million acre-feet per year statewide, the majority of it pumped from the ground. Water users and political leaders recognized then that continuing to pump groundwater at such levels in a fast-growing Sun Belt state like Arizona was not sustainable.
“The whole structure was ready to collapse,” recalled former Arizona Governor Bruce Babbitt in 2016.
The Act addressed this problem in central Arizona by prohibiting the expansion of farmland, requiring an assured 100-year water supply for new residential development, limiting the drilling of new wells, and imposing mandatory conservation requirements. With these measures in place, groundwater depletion in central Arizona slowed dramatically.
“In passing the Groundwater Management Act, the State recognized that overuse of groundwater—a finite supply—threatened the economy and welfare of Arizona and its citizens,” observes former ADWR Director Kathleen Ferris, who served as director of legislative staff working on the project in 1979-1980.
“While more must be done to protect the state’s groundwater, I hate to think of where we’d be now without the Act.”
Ferris and her husband, filmmaker Michael Schiffer, produced a documentary on the creation of the Act – “Groundwater: To enact a law for the common good.”
A central goal of the Act is to conserve the State’s most vital resource, water. It has succeeded at the goal remarkably well.
Since 1957, Arizona’s population has grown nearly 500 percent, to 6.7 million residents as of 2018. Its economy has exploded from a gross domestic income of $13.4 billion in 1957 to about $270 billion in 2017. Yet, despite such dramatic growth, Arizona’s total water use actually declined to 1957 levels following the passage of the Act.
Today, Arizona uses roughly 7 million acre-feet of water per year – nearly the same amount that Arizona water users consumed more than 60 years ago.
Highlights of the Act:
- The five “active management areas” covered by the Groundwater Management Act include less than a quarter of the state’s land mass, but over 75 percent of its population
- Developers building in active-management areas must demonstrate an assured water supply lasting at least 100 years for new growth
- The statutory deadline for reaching “safe yield” – that is, groundwater withdrawal that does not exceed annual replenishment of underground aquifers – is fast approaching: 2025
- Outside of active-management areas and “non-irrigation areas,” groundwater use in Arizona remains essentially unregulated
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For more information regarding this matter, please contact Doug MacEachern, Communications Administrator at [email protected] or Shauna Evans, Public Information Officer at [email protected]
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Press Release: Arizona Department of Water Resources and Audubon Agree to Funding Plan to Conserve Colorado River Water
Arizona Department of Water Resources and Audubon Agree to Funding Plan to Conserve Colorado River Water
Fulfilling Drought Contingency Plan commitments and achieving water security for Arizona.PHOENIX—As part of an overall $38 million effort to bolster Lake Mead surface levels by fallowing irrigable farmland on the Colorado River Indian Reservation in western Arizona, the National Audubon Society has reached an agreement with the Arizona Department of Water Resources (ADWR) to help fund the Colorado River Indian Tribes’ (CRIT) on-going efforts to conserve 150,000 acre-feet of water in Lake Mead over the next three years.
“Leaving water in Lake Mead for the greater Colorado River system creates more security for people and birds in the arid Southwest,” said Karyn Stockdale, Audubon’s Western Water Initiative Senior Director.
“This is a great first step toward completing an important piece of the funding plan approved by the Steering Committee members and the Arizona Legislature,” said ADWR Director Tom Buschatzke. “I commend the National Audubon Society for recognizing the importance of keeping Lake Mead surface levels as stable and healthy as possible.”
The three-year deal is expected to reduce water demand and add approximately two vertical feet to Lake Mead’s surface levels.
According to the agreement signed on May 21, Audubon—supported by their corporate partner Intel Corporation—will contribute to an Arizona Fund created in 2019 to incentivize the CRIT for creating up to 150,000 acre-feet of system conservation water in Lake Mead, helping to avoid precipitous declines in the Lake.
“I want to thank our partners at Audubon, Intel, and the Arizona Department of Water Resources for their ongoing support of this conservation project,” said Colorado River Indian Tribes Chairman Dennis Patch. “The partnership among the State, nonprofit organizations, corporations and our tribal government demonstrates that working together we can tackle the most enduring water supply challenges. The Colorado River Indian Tribes look forward to continuing to work with our partners ensuring the State of Arizona has a sustainable water future.”
The CRIT offered to forego irrigation water deliveries and fallow approximately 10,000 acres of farmland in exchange for the funding.
The fallowing/funding effort is a part of Arizona’s celebrated agreement among dozens of water users, agencies, tribes and conservation groups statewide in January 2019 to address instability in the Colorado River system through the Drought Contingency Plan (DCP). After nearly 20 years of drought in the Colorado River Basin, the DCP is designed to promote conservation, reduce demand, and stabilize water levels in Lake Mead through projects such as the CRIT’s system conservation project.
“Intel is proud to support this vital effort, and to restore water to the community we’ve innovated and invested in for 40 years,” said Liz Shipley, Intel Arizona Public Affairs Director. “Investing in our watershed is an investment in our future.”
Signed May 21, Audubon’s funding contribution agreement with ADWR comes almost exactly one year after the May 20, 2019 signing of the DCP on the Observation Deck of Hoover Dam by the seven Colorado River States and the federal Department of the Interior.
Background on System Conservation and DCP
The months-long, public efforts of Arizona’s Steering Committee, led by ADWR Director Buschatzke and Central Arizona Water Conservation District (CAWCD) General Manager Ted Cooke, opened the door to the State Legislature’s approval of legislation authorizing the ADWR Director to sign the DCP, as well as legislation necessary for the DCP to be implemented in Arizona.
On signing the legislation on January 31, 2019, Governor Doug Ducey hailed the DCP as “the most significant water legislation passed in nearly 40 years.”
The specific terms of the CRIT conservation effort were set out in an agreement by ADWR with the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, operator of the Colorado River system, and the CAWCD, which delivers about 1.6 million acre-feet of Arizona’s 2.8 million acre-foot annual allocation to users mainly in central and south-central Arizona.
To fund the CRIT creation of system conservation water in Lake Mead, the State of Arizona appropriated $30 million in budget year 2019/2020. By a separate agreement, the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) agreed to deposit $2 million into the Fund by January 31, 2020 and use its best efforts to raise an additional $6 million into the Fund no later than July 15, 2021.
The Audubon contribution is a part of the EDF agreement. Intel’s leadership support of Audubon made this vital project possible, and also opens up opportunities to leverage additional philanthropic support later this year.
This project demonstrates how the landmark DCP agreement is achieving the goal of creating positive partnerships among entities, fulfilling funding commitments and achieving water security for Arizona.
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For more information regarding this matter, please contact Shauna Evans, Arizona Department of Water Resources’s Public Information Officer at [email protected] or Joey Kahn, National Audubon Society’s Western Water Communications Manager at [email protected].
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Press Release: Statement on the Bureau of Reclamation’s April 24-Month Study
Statement on the Bureau of Reclamation’s April 24-Month Study
PHOENIX – The United States Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) has released its April 24 Month Study, which projects Colorado River operations for the next two years. The study projects the operating conditions of the Colorado River system, as well as runoff and reservoir conditions. The Upper Basin experienced around average snowpack (107%) this year, and the April-July inflow into Lake Powell is expected to be 78% of average. The below-average projection is due to extremely dry conditions in the basin during October and November of 2019. Consistent with the 2007 Interim Guidelines, Lake Powell will operate under an annual release of 8.23 million acre feet in water year 2020.
The April 24 Month Study projects Lake Mead’s January 1, 2021 elevation to be 1084.69 feet, putting Lake Mead in a Tier Zero condition for 2021. The Study also projects a Tier Zero condition for Lake Mead in 2022 with the projected January 1, 2022 elevation of 1084.39 feet. Tier Zero conditions require a 192,000 acre-foot reduction in Arizona’s 2.8 million acre-foot allocation. The Lower Colorado River Basin is in Tier Zero for 2020. The April 24 month study projects that the Lower Colorado River Basin will remain in the Tier Zero condition in 2021.
These reductions will fall entirely on Central Arizona Project (CAP) supplies, impacting CAP supplies for water banking, replenishment and agricultural users. The Tier Zero reductions will not impact tribal or municipal CAP water users.
While the Tier Zero reductions are significant, they are part of broader efforts being implemented to reduce the near-term risks of deeper reductions to Arizona’s Colorado River supplies. In addition to the Tier Zero reductions to CAP supplies, other programs to conserve and store water are being implemented in Arizona. These include programs with the Colorado River Indian Tribes, Gila River Indian Community, Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation, Metro Water District, Mohave Valley Irrigation and Drainage District, the Arizona Department of Water Resources (ADWR), Central Arizona Water Conservation District (CAWCD), as well as Reclamation.
The April 24 Month Study shows that in the near term, the programs being implemented in Arizona and across the Colorado River system, along with favorable hydrology, have helped avoid a near-term crisis in the Colorado River system. However, we continue to face significant near-term and long-term risks to Arizona’s Colorado River supplies. We have much more work to do to address our shared risks. ADWR and CAWCD intend to jointly convene Arizona water stakeholders to address these risks and to prepare for new negotiations regarding the long-term operating rules on the Colorado River later this year.
See also:
Bureau of Reclamation April 24-Month Study
For more information regarding this matter, please contact Doug MacEachern, Communications Administrator at [email protected] or Shauna Evans, Public Information Officer at [email protected]
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Press Release: Appreciation Week Recognizes Essential Services of Arizona Water Professionals
Appreciation Week Recognizes Essential Services of Arizona Water Professionals
PHOENIX – Like so much else, the COVID-19 virus has caused the cancellation of scheduled Arizona Water Professionals Appreciation Week events this year.
That doesn’t mean we still can’t celebrate the essential services that the State’s water professionals provide.
Arizona lawmakers already have done so.
House Resolution 2003, passed by the Legislature in March, decreed April 12-18 as the week that Arizonans will honor the hard work of professionals in the water industry.
The resolution, sponsored by Rep. Rosanna Gabaldon (D-Sahuarita), was read on the floor of the House of Representatives on March 18.
In part, the resolution invited lawmakers to “extend sincere gratitude and appreciation to the water professionals who are on the front line of delivering Arizona’s safe and reliable water…”
The reading of the resolution can be found here: https://bit.ly/3c3LXTE.
Now in its second year in Arizona, this recognition program was started by professionals who work in Arizona’s water industry. It is intended to spotlight their role in promoting clean and sustainable water supplies while drawing attention to career opportunities in the water industry and increasing awareness of Arizona’s unique water resources.
Thousands of professionals work in water-related fields in Arizona, and new employees are needed each year due to growth in the industry and to replace an aging workforce. The water industry offers a wide variety of rewarding career opportunities in engineering, hydrology, water operations, biology, policy, economics, business administration, law, and communications.
See also:
For more information regarding this matter, please contact Juliet McKenna, organizer of Arizona Water Professionals Appreciation Week at [email protected].
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Press Release: A Statement from Arizona’s Water Community on the Security and Resiliency of the State’s Water Supplies
A Statement from Arizona’s Water Community on the Security and Resiliency of the State’s Water Supplies
PHOENIX – Water is critical to public health, our quality of life, the desert environment and our economy. That is why we are all doing our part to ensure you always have water at your tap, even during times of concern.
We have planned and invested in robust and resilient water supplies, infrastructure and processes so that your local water provider can deliver you water every day of every year. Through our collaborative efforts, we can bring water from Arizona’s mountains and the Colorado River, and manage our groundwater.
We are each taking extra precautions by implementing resiliency plans that have been developed for times like these to better ensure essential operations continue without interruption and we can fully support local water providers – all of which could not be achieved without the dedicated efforts of all of our employees.
Together we remain committed to safeguarding our water supplies so they remain secure not just for today, but for the future.
See also:
Arizona Department of Water Resources’s “Continuing ADWR Operations While Slowing the Spread” webpage| View ADWR’s Page >
Arizona Department of Environmental Quality’s “Continuing ADEQ Operations While Slowing the Spread” webpage| View ADEQ’s Page >
Central Arizona Project’s “COVID-19 Updates” webpage | View CAP’s Page >
Salt River Project’s “Watershed Connection” website | View SRP’s Website >
Arizona Municipal Water Users Association “Cities Dedicated to Continued Delivery of Safe and Secure Water” webpage | View AMWUA’s Page >
Governor Ducey’s “Arizona Together” website | View Arizona Together Website >
For more information regarding this matter, please contact Doug MacEachern, Communications Administrator at [email protected] or Shauna Evans, Public Information Officer at [email protected]
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Press Release: ADWR creates new, informational “Continuing Operations” web page
ADWR creates new, informational “Continuing Operations” web page
PHOENIX – Like virtually all other government agencies, the Arizona Department of Water Resources has adjusted to the threats posed by the COVID-19 virus while, at the same time, conducting as many public services and core mission functions as
possible.
ADWR is prepared for eventualities such as this one. The Department is well-
positioned to conduct services remotely, with staff working outside the office in
many cases. In the meanwhile, ADWR’s vital mission work of protecting Arizona’s water supplies – while also minimizing exposure risk to staff and customers – remains our top priority.
As part of the Department’s continuing-operations effort, ADWR has created a
new web page – accessible at new.azwater.gov/covid-19 – that will provide updates regarding Department operations in the weeks to come.
The webpage will include up-to-date changes in ADWR operations, as well as links to informational COVID-19 websites, such as the Environmental Protection
Agency’s statement regarding the safety of drinking water.
See also:
For more information regarding this matter, please contact Doug MacEachern, Communications Administrator at [email protected] or Shauna Evans, Public Information Officer at [email protected]
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Press Release: Arizona Department of Water Resources conducting “basin sweep” to collect water level measurements in the Tucson and Santa Cruz Active Management Areas & Cienega Creek and San Rafael Basins
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Shauna Evans
Jan. 30, 2020 PHONE: 602.771.8079
Arizona Department of Water Resources conducting “basin sweep” to collect water level measurements in the Tucson and Santa Cruz Active Management Areas & Cienega Creek and San Rafael Basins
PHOENIX – Beginning the week of February 10, and continuing for several months, Arizona Department of Water Resources (ADWR) field services staff will be making an extensive effort to measure water levels in wells in the Tucson and Santa Cruz Active Management Areas (AMAs) & Cienega Creek and San Rafael Basins.
ADWR staff will attempt to measure water levels at hundreds of wells in these AMAs and basins. This survey of wells – or basin “sweep,” as it is known — will be the first such basin survey of the area since 2016. The data collected will be used for several purposes, including:
- Analysis of water-level trends
- Groundwater modeling
- Water-level change maps
- Hydrologic reports
- Water resource planning and management
The general area covered by this basin sweep is the southern portion of the state and extends from the U.S. – Mexico border to north of Tucson.
For more information regarding this matter, please contact Public Information Officer Shauna Evans at [email protected] or (602) 771-8079.
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ADWR Director Tom Buschatzke Comments on Secretary Bernhardt Initiating an Early Review of Current Colorado River Operational Rules in Recent U.S. Department of Interior Press Release
“Collaborative efforts with the United States, the Basin States and their water users and Mexico have been key to the success of managing water supplies, creating resiliency against drought and a more sustainable Colorado River…” – Tom Buschatzke, Director of the Arizona Department of Water Resources.
Read MorePress Release: Arizona Department of Water Resources conducts “basin sweep” to collect water-level measurements in the Lower Gila and Gila Bend Basins
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Shauna Evans
Dec. 4, 2019 PHONE: 602.771.8079
Arizona Department of Water Resources conducts “basin sweep” to collect water-level measurements in the Lower Gila and Gila Bend Basins
PHOENIX- Beginning the week of December 9, 2019 and continuing for several months, the Arizona Department of Water Resources (ADWR) will be making an extensive effort to measure water levels in wells in the Lower Gila and Gila Bend Basins. This sweep will cover a large portion of the state southwest of the Phoenix metropolitan area, generally south of I-10 and west of I-85, excluding the Yuma area and along the U.S. – Mexico border.
ADWR staff will attempt to measure water levels at hundreds of wells in the Lower Gila and Gila Bend Basins. This survey of area wells – or basin “sweep,” as it is known — will be the first such basin survey of the area since 2008 in Gila Bend Basin and since 1992 in Lower Gila Basin. The data collected will be used for several purposes, including:
- Analysis of water-level trends
- Groundwater modeling
- Water-level change maps
- Hydrologic reports
- Water resource planning and management
For more information regarding this matter, please contact Public Information Officer Shauna Evans at [email protected] or (602) 771-8079.
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Press Release: Arizona Department of Water Resources Accepting Applications for the Groundwater Conservation Grant
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Shauna Evans
Dec. 2, 2019 PHONE: 602.771.8079
Arizona Department of Water Resources Accepting Applications for the Groundwater Conservation Grant
PHOENIX- The Arizona Department of Water Resources (ADWR) is now accepting applications for the Water Management Assistance Program (WMAP) Groundwater Conservation Grant. This grant, in the sum of $2,000,000, was appropriated to the WMAP for the purpose of providing additional monies to support conservation of groundwater in Arizona’s five Active Management Areas (AMAs), pursuant to A.R.S. § 45-617 (C). Grants may be allocated to programs and projects that demonstrate the ability to conserve Arizona’s groundwater resources either directly or indirectly and are located within the five AMAs.
The deadline to submit applications is February 14, 2020, by 5 pm.
Application solicitation and the Grant Notice of Funding Opportunity may be found on the Arizona Office of Grants and Federal Resources website: https://grants.az.gov/funding-opportunities-0. Applications must be submitted through this website in order to be considered.
ADWR staff will host a grant application workshop on Tuesday, December 10th at 8:30–10:00 am at ADWR, 1110 W. Washington St., Room 3175, Phoenix, 85007. The workshop will be available via webinar as well as recorded and posted on the WMAP webpage at https://new.azwater.gov/ama/wmap, for those who are not able to attend the workshop.
For additional information, please contact Melissa Sikes, WMAP Coordinator, at (602) 771-8449 or [email protected].
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2019 Pinal Groundwater model released
The “2019 Pinal Model and 100-year Assured Water Supply Projection Technical Memorandum” — an analysis of the Pinal County area’s groundwater conditions, performed by the Arizona Department of Water Resources, is now complete and available for viewing.
The model can be viewed here.
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ADWR director pens Pinal County oped urging local solutions for region’s water future
The Casa Grande Dispatch/Pinal Central today published a column by Arizona Department of Water Resources Director Tom Buschatzke extolling the values that decades ago made the state a leader in groundwater management.
Those values, he observed, including stakeholder involvement in decision-making and a commitment to consumer protection.
Those values will be on display in coming months as Pinal County address the challenges of future population and economic growth, he said.
“The legacy of the 1980 Groundwater Management Act is an enduring one. It proved that a spirit of cooperation among diverse interests can achieve far more than by acting alone.”
Director Buschatzke’s Dispatch/Pinal Central oped can be found here.
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How do we sustain the Colorado River past 2026? Here’s how Arizona intends to find out.
By Tom Buschatzke, Director, Arizona Department of Water Resources, and Ted Cooke, General Manager, Central Arizona Project
It didn’t take long for the completion of the Drought Contingency Plan to create value to Arizona and the Colorado River Basin.
Its focus on stabilizing Lake Mead and creating incentives to “bank” water in the reservoir already are paying dividends.
We can say with confidence that DCP is already a success.
DCP is providing a safe harbor while we work on important issues leading up to 2026, when the existing guidelines for the operation of the Colorado River system expire.
We now have an opportunity to build on the successful Arizona process that led to the DCP signing. Arizona is Stronger Together. And that will serve us well as we work toward the next step – maintaining a stable, healthy Colorado River system as we face a hotter and drier future.
Lake Mead is 22 feet higher than expectedA year ago, many of us were immersed in the details of Arizona’s Drought Contingency Implementation Plan, which benefited from the cooperative spirit of its participants, including elected leaders and representatives from every sector of the state’s water-using community.
Tom Buschatzke
In 2020 and likely 2021, we will be operating under DCP’s Tier Zero, a reduction of 192,000 acre-feet to Arizona. The estimated impact of contributing this water is more than $40 million, but the investment is worth it to protect the Colorado River system.
Ted CookeDCP’s incentives allowed for greater storage in Lake Mead this year. That, coupled with a lot of snow from the Rocky Mountains and additional tributary flow, increased storage in Lake Mead by more than 22 feet from what was initially projected.
An excellent winter snowpack in the Rockies helped Lake Mead a lot. But here is the kicker: Almost half of that 22-foot rise in Lake Mead was due to storage and contributions to system conservation.
But DCP won’t hold us foreverThe term used for the coming negotiations on the system’s new guidelines is “reconsultation” of the “Colorado River Interim Guidelines for Lower Basin Shortages and the Coordinated Operations for Lake Powell and Lake Mead.”
The emphasis is on “interim.” The 2007 Guidelines expire in 2026. So, when people ask “what’s next?” for Colorado River management, that’s it – the difficult challenge of assessing the effectiveness of the current Guidelines, with the DCP overlay, and exploring new approaches for the next iteration of the Guidelines.
As we learned on January 31 when the State Legislature passed, and Governor Doug Ducey signed Arizona’s DCP, we achieved success because we worked together. We intend to bring the steering committee process back to life, reviving that spirit of cooperation that so infused negotiations.
To that end, we are embarking on a listening and data-collecting effort. It is our plan to meet first with the elected leaders who contributed so much time and effort to the successful steering committee process. Then, we plan to sit down with other delegates, including those representing Arizona tribes, cities, agriculture, mining, development and the nonprofit community.
Our goal: To develop a shared visionOur new goal? Gather our stakeholders’ thoughts and develop a shared vision as we plan for Arizona’s Colorado River water supply.
This will ensure Arizona is a strong voice among the Colorado River Basin states and the federal government as we hammer out the next set of agreements for management of the Colorado River Basin beyond 2026.
That is our “Next Step.” It’s a big one and we must be prepared. And we will be, because Arizona truly is Stronger Together.