News
Middle San Pedro watershed under scrutiny by USGS, UA
Terri Jo Neff /Special to the News-Sun
A water study is under way to collect data about the age and the chemistry of groundwater in the middle San Pedro watershed, which includes the Benson area. The study, funded by the US Geological Survey (USGS), also hopes to gain a better understanding of how groundwater changes over the years.
According to Jesse Dickinson, a USGS hydrologist from Tucson, the project is being done in conjunction with the University of Arizona's Department of Hydrology and Water Resources. The study will serve as a Masters Thesis project for University of Arizona graduate student Candice Adkins, and could take 12 to 18 months to complete.
Knowing the age and chemical composition of water will help scientists better understand the sources of water in our local aquifers and how groundwater moves between aquifers.
Adkins' research is just one of many activities supported by the Arizona Department of Water Resources (ADWR) and the USGS' Arizona Water Science Center to better understand the 50-mile long middle San Pedro basin, running from Tombstone north to the Benson Narrows and up to Redington.
Carl Robie, Cochise County's Water Policy Director, said the activities will "provide good information about the age of our water." And although Adkins' research won't address how much water is in specific communities or how future demands will impact existing water supplies, Robie notes that "any data we can gather is valuable. Cochise County has not been studied as much as some, so we're happy to see this under way."
Since 2005, the middle San Pedro has been of interest to scientists through a program called the Rural Watershed Initiative, which is managed by ADWR. Activities include frequent measurements of wells near the San Pedro River, along with measuring the flow of water along the river.
University of Arizona's Geosciences Department staff scientist Chris Eastoe, who is supervising Adkins' project, is also doing preliminary isotope testing of groundwater in the Cascabel area as part of another study.
Eventually the USGS will create a groundwater flow model of the basin's aquifer system to be shared with the public, government agencies, and researchers.
Cochise County also recently received a $3000 grant proposal from the Community Watershed Alliance (CWA) to fund a carbon-14 isotope study that would build on Adkins' research. The CWA is a local non-profit group concerned with the sustainable health of the watershed. Although next year's county budget has not been finalized, all three supervisors have expressed their support for the study.
District 3 Supervisor Richard Searle, who represents the Benson area and most of the middle San Pedro, believes the area will benefit from the current USGS study and the one the CWA is proposing. "The county has spent a lot of money over the years to study the Upper San Pedro River near Sierra Vista," noted Searle. "So I'm glad to see support for additional information on the middle San Pedro in northern Cochise County."
Searle added that "a healthy San Pedro River is critical to the economic and environmental future of the county, so any assistance we can provide in acquiring information is beneficial."
A six-page fact sheet about the USGS' middle San Pedro watershed plans is available at http://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/2006/3034. You can also contact the Community Watershed Alliance at 520-609-2738 or view their Web site at www.cwatershedalliance.com.
A water study is under way to collect data about the age and the chemistry of groundwater in the middle San Pedro watershed, which includes the Benson area. The study, funded by the US Geological Survey (USGS), also hopes to gain a better understanding of how groundwater changes over the years.
According to Jesse Dickinson, a USGS hydrologist from Tucson, the project is being done in conjunction with the University of Arizona's Department of Hydrology and Water Resources. The study will serve as a Masters Thesis project for University of Arizona graduate student Candice Adkins, and could take 12 to 18 months to complete.
Knowing the age and chemical composition of water will help scientists better understand the sources of water in our local aquifers and how groundwater moves between aquifers.
Adkins' research is just one of many activities supported by the Arizona Department of Water Resources (ADWR) and the USGS' Arizona Water Science Center to better understand the 50-mile long middle San Pedro basin, running from Tombstone north to the Benson Narrows and up to Redington.
Carl Robie, Cochise County's Water Policy Director, said the activities will "provide good information about the age of our water." And although Adkins' research won't address how much water is in specific communities or how future demands will impact existing water supplies, Robie notes that "any data we can gather is valuable. Cochise County has not been studied as much as some, so we're happy to see this under way."
Since 2005, the middle San Pedro has been of interest to scientists through a program called the Rural Watershed Initiative, which is managed by ADWR. Activities include frequent measurements of wells near the San Pedro River, along with measuring the flow of water along the river.
University of Arizona's Geosciences Department staff scientist Chris Eastoe, who is supervising Adkins' project, is also doing preliminary isotope testing of groundwater in the Cascabel area as part of another study.
Eventually the USGS will create a groundwater flow model of the basin's aquifer system to be shared with the public, government agencies, and researchers.
Cochise County also recently received a $3000 grant proposal from the Community Watershed Alliance (CWA) to fund a carbon-14 isotope study that would build on Adkins' research. The CWA is a local non-profit group concerned with the sustainable health of the watershed. Although next year's county budget has not been finalized, all three supervisors have expressed their support for the study.
District 3 Supervisor Richard Searle, who represents the Benson area and most of the middle San Pedro, believes the area will benefit from the current USGS study and the one the CWA is proposing. "The county has spent a lot of money over the years to study the Upper San Pedro River near Sierra Vista," noted Searle. "So I'm glad to see support for additional information on the middle San Pedro in northern Cochise County."
Searle added that "a healthy San Pedro River is critical to the economic and environmental future of the county, so any assistance we can provide in acquiring information is beneficial."
A six-page fact sheet about the USGS' middle San Pedro watershed plans is available at http://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/2006/3034. You can also contact the Community Watershed Alliance at 520-609-2738 or view their Web site at www.cwatershedalliance.com.
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