News
Looking below surface to save San Pedro; private wells could face scrutiny
Bill Hess/Wick Communications
Sometime in the future, a judicial decision may be reached ordering private wells along and near the San Pedro River to be investigated to see if they impact the waterway.
It's unknown how far in the future a decision might be.
In another small step on the long road involving the Gila River adjudication process, which began three decades ago, representatives of the Arizona Department of Water Resources recently talked about the agency's new Subflow Zone Delineation Report.
It will be a tool for a Maricopa County judge in making a decision of what water users are within both the narrow zone and those outside the zone that may be stopping the subflow of water to the river, Rich Burtell told an audience Friday.
Subflow is considered part of surface water flow, a definition that dates to 1931, said Burtell, manager of the department's adjudication and technical support for statewide planning.
In 1931, subflow was defined as "those waters which slowly find their way through sand and gravel constituting the bed of the stream, or the lands under or immediately adjacent to the stream, and are themselves part of the surface stream," according to a slide he displayed Friday at the first of two meetings presenting the report.
When it comes to subflow, it is "subject to the same rules of appropriations as the surface stream itself," the slide stated.
What that means when it comes to the San Pedro River is that since the watershed is part of a floodplain, the region extends beyond the immediate area of the waterway, Burtell said.
Because of that, the court has decided that "if a well is located within the subflow zone, it is presumed to be withdrawing the subflow," he said.
It is not time for water users to become overly concerned because the June Arizona Department of Water Resources report has yet to be accepted by the court, Burtell said, noting there are a number of other interest groups involved in the adjudication, and everyone has the right to object to the agency's report with specific reasons.
"This is a technical report," Burtell said.
The report had to look back at the river "at predevelopment time," he said.
It was known prior to major development in the area, during the Holocene era some 10,000 years ago, up to when major settlements began to be built in the late 1800s, the river was a perennial and intermittent flowing stream, Burtell said.
Now there are indications that many areas of the river do not flow either perennially or intermittently, he added.
The report was an attempt to see what the watershed was like in the past and how it is today as part of the adjudication process.
"We shook the trees to see what fell out," Burtell said.
The San Pedro River, with its major feeders, the Babocomari River and Aravaipa Creek, flow to the Gila River, which the Indian tribes along that waterway contend has deteriorated because of growth in this part of Arizona.
The Gila River adjudication is one of two streams in the state being looked at by courts; the other is the Little Colorado River in the northern part of Arizona.
Decision years away
Until the Maricopa County judge makes a final ruling, which Burtell and legal assistant Janet Ronald, the Arizona Department of Water Resources' deputy counsel, said is years "if not a decade or more away," water users in the San Pedro watershed must be prepared.
Individuals with the earliest presence have the highest priority when it comes to using water, Burtell said. Within the Sierra Vista area, that would be those with a federal presence like Fort Huachuca, he added.
Corrine Bousman of Benson said her concerns are that new property owners, including those who purchase from previous owners, do not know about the water issues they could face along the river.
Real estate agents are remiss in not informing potential buyers of issues like the Gila River adjudication problem, she said.
Whenever a home is sold, there has to be a termite report, "and there is no reason why a water report should be part of the mortgage process," Bousman said.
Burtell said attempts, some successful, have been made by a special master appointed by the court as part of the adjudication process to have real estate agents provide such information, but it is not required by state law.
Listening was state Rep. Pat Fleming, D-Dist. 25.
Copies of the Arizona Department of Water Resources June 2009 Subflow Zone Report concerning the San Pedro River are available for reading at the Benson, Bisbee and Sierra Vista libraries.
Sometime in the future, a judicial decision may be reached ordering private wells along and near the San Pedro River to be investigated to see if they impact the waterway.
It's unknown how far in the future a decision might be.
In another small step on the long road involving the Gila River adjudication process, which began three decades ago, representatives of the Arizona Department of Water Resources recently talked about the agency's new Subflow Zone Delineation Report.
It will be a tool for a Maricopa County judge in making a decision of what water users are within both the narrow zone and those outside the zone that may be stopping the subflow of water to the river, Rich Burtell told an audience Friday.
Subflow is considered part of surface water flow, a definition that dates to 1931, said Burtell, manager of the department's adjudication and technical support for statewide planning.
In 1931, subflow was defined as "those waters which slowly find their way through sand and gravel constituting the bed of the stream, or the lands under or immediately adjacent to the stream, and are themselves part of the surface stream," according to a slide he displayed Friday at the first of two meetings presenting the report.
When it comes to subflow, it is "subject to the same rules of appropriations as the surface stream itself," the slide stated.
What that means when it comes to the San Pedro River is that since the watershed is part of a floodplain, the region extends beyond the immediate area of the waterway, Burtell said.
Because of that, the court has decided that "if a well is located within the subflow zone, it is presumed to be withdrawing the subflow," he said.
It is not time for water users to become overly concerned because the June Arizona Department of Water Resources report has yet to be accepted by the court, Burtell said, noting there are a number of other interest groups involved in the adjudication, and everyone has the right to object to the agency's report with specific reasons.
"This is a technical report," Burtell said.
The report had to look back at the river "at predevelopment time," he said.
It was known prior to major development in the area, during the Holocene era some 10,000 years ago, up to when major settlements began to be built in the late 1800s, the river was a perennial and intermittent flowing stream, Burtell said.
Now there are indications that many areas of the river do not flow either perennially or intermittently, he added.
The report was an attempt to see what the watershed was like in the past and how it is today as part of the adjudication process.
"We shook the trees to see what fell out," Burtell said.
The San Pedro River, with its major feeders, the Babocomari River and Aravaipa Creek, flow to the Gila River, which the Indian tribes along that waterway contend has deteriorated because of growth in this part of Arizona.
The Gila River adjudication is one of two streams in the state being looked at by courts; the other is the Little Colorado River in the northern part of Arizona.
Decision years away
Until the Maricopa County judge makes a final ruling, which Burtell and legal assistant Janet Ronald, the Arizona Department of Water Resources' deputy counsel, said is years "if not a decade or more away," water users in the San Pedro watershed must be prepared.
Individuals with the earliest presence have the highest priority when it comes to using water, Burtell said. Within the Sierra Vista area, that would be those with a federal presence like Fort Huachuca, he added.
Corrine Bousman of Benson said her concerns are that new property owners, including those who purchase from previous owners, do not know about the water issues they could face along the river.
Real estate agents are remiss in not informing potential buyers of issues like the Gila River adjudication problem, she said.
Whenever a home is sold, there has to be a termite report, "and there is no reason why a water report should be part of the mortgage process," Bousman said.
Burtell said attempts, some successful, have been made by a special master appointed by the court as part of the adjudication process to have real estate agents provide such information, but it is not required by state law.
Listening was state Rep. Pat Fleming, D-Dist. 25.
Copies of the Arizona Department of Water Resources June 2009 Subflow Zone Report concerning the San Pedro River are available for reading at the Benson, Bisbee and Sierra Vista libraries.
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