Month: December 2018

Press Release: Arizona Department of Water Resources conducts “basin sweep” to collect water-level measurements in the Pinal Active Management Area

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PRESS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                CONTACT: Sally Stewart Lee 

Dec. 20, 2018                                                                                          PHONE: 602.771.8530

Arizona Department of Water Resources conducts “basin sweep” to collect water-level measurements in the Pinal Active Management Area

PHOENIX – Beginning the week of December 10, 2018, and continuing approximately through the end of January 2019, the Arizona Department of Water Resources (ADWR) will be conducting an extensive effort to measure water levels in wells in the Pinal Active Management Area (AMA).

ADWR staff will attempt to measure water levels at hundreds of wells in the Pinal AMA.  This survey of area wells – or basin “sweep,” as it is known — will be the first such basin survey of the area since 2013. The data collected will be used for several purposes, including:

  • analysis of water-level trends
  • groundwater modeling
  • water-level change maps
  • hydrologic reports and
  • water resource planning and management.

Every year the Department’s hydrologists collect water levels in a statewide network of about 1,600 to 1,800 “index” wells that have typically been measured annually over the last several decades. Also each year, the Department targets at least one area of the State for a more intensive “sweep,” which provides a deeper dive into regional groundwater conditions.

The involvement of well owners in sweeps is entirely voluntary. ADWR greatly appreciates the cooperation of well owners who participate in the well survey.

For more information regarding this matter, please contact Public Information Officer Sally Stewart Lee at sslee@azwater.gov or (602) 771-8530.

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Arizona water coalition declares support for “Implementation Plan” to complete state’s plan for Colorado River delivery shortfalls

On By azwater

The Water for Arizona Coalition, a group comprising Arizonans who support policies and innovative practices to ensure a reliable water supply to meet the state’s needs, has released a statement  of support for the “Implementation Plan” that was unveiled at the November 29 Steering Committee meeting at Central Arizona Project headquarters.

The coalition singled out three tenets of the Implementation Plan that its members consider key:

  • Governor Ducey’s pledge to allocate $30 million in funding for system conservation as a part of the implementation of DCP
  • The readiness of the Walton Family Foundation and Water Funders Initiative to work in partnership with public funders and other stakeholders to fill the $8 million funding gap for system conservation in the Lower Basin
  • The benefits of the proposed mitigation for the Colorado River system and water levels in Lake Mead

The coalition’s complete statement:

11.30.2018 Water for Arizona AZ DCP Statement