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THE NATURE CONSERVANCY Files

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Market-based Responses to Arizona’s Water Sustainability Challenges

The Cornerstones Report explores how market-based tools can contribute to the protection and restoration of ecosystem water needs. The overarching goal of this report is to demonstrate how a market-based response—defined as the use of tradable water rights by institutions to facilitate voluntary reallocation of water to meet ecological needs—can
be an integral part of water management in Arizona. To meet this goal, the report identifies the foundational elements needed to develop and apply market-based options by examining:
• Arizona's water sustainability challenges and their driving forces
• The diverse water geographies in Arizona
• Market-based reallocation alternatives
• Challenges and opportunities for market-based responses

View Document.

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2014-08-03 Ecological Implications of Verde River Flows - Summary

Summary report, 4 pages. The Verde River Ecological Flows study is a collaboration between The Nature Conservancy, Arizona Water Institute, and Verde River Basin Partnership. The purpose of the study is to develop a conceptual understanding of how the Verde River ecosystem would respond to variations in the river's hydrology—especially to decreases in river flows. The study team compiled and summarized what is known about the river's physical and ecological characteristics, drawing upon available data and what is known about hydrology-biology relationships on similar rivers. View Document.

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Biological impacts of emerging contaminants in wastewater effluent – Full Report

To develop a better understanding of the issues and best practices related to the use of treated effluent to help maintain river flows and habitat, the Conservancy commissioned a study to summarize the state of the science. The use of treated wastewater effluent is becoming a more prominent factor in Arizona's overall water management strategy. Treated effluent contains a wide array of chemical and pharmaceutical compounds referred to as emerging contaminants. Because many of the individual compounds in wastewater persist through the treatment process and can cause damage to biological systems, careful consid- eration must be given to the design of treatment systems and use of treated wastewater effluent. As the state strives to achieve sustainable use of water, treated effluent is one option to supplement human and environmental needs.
Understanding tradeoffs between water quantity, quality and the cost of alternative treatment strategies will require access to the best available information for those working to maintain the conservation, economic and cultural values of our rivers. The Conservancy recognizes that treated wastewater effluent is a valuable resource, but also has associated risks.
The literature was summarized in a report by Dr. Catherine Propper and Dr. David Quanrud that examines the biological impacts of exposure to municipal wastewater effluent and ways to reduce exposure through conventional, natural and advanced treatment processes, including a comparison of costs. This summary provides an overview of the report's major findings, including the best practices identified in the scientific literature for treating effluent. View Document.

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Biological impacts of emerging contaminants in wastewater effluent – Summary Report

To develop a better understanding of the issues and best practices related to the use of treated effluent to help maintain river flows and habitat, the Conservancy commissioned a study to summarize the state of the science. The use of treated wastewater effluent is becoming a more prominent factor in Arizona's overall water management strategy. Treated effluent contains a wide array of chemical and pharmaceutical compounds referred to as emerging contaminants. Because many of the individual compounds in wastewater persist through the treatment process and can cause damage to biological systems, careful consideration must be given to the design of treatment systems and use of treated wastewater effluent. As the state strives to achieve sustainable use of water, treated effluent is one option to supplement human and environmental needs.
Understanding tradeoffs between water quantity, quality and the cost of alternative treatment strategies will require access to the best available information for those working to maintain the conservation, economic and cultural values of our rivers. The Conservancy recognizes that treated wastewater effluent is a valuable resource, but also has associated risks.
The literature was summarized in a report by Dr. Catherine Propper and Dr. David Quanrud that examines the biological impacts of exposure to municipal wastewater effluent and ways to reduce exposure through conventional, natural and advanced treatment processes, including a comparison of costs. This summary provides an overview of the report's major findings, including the best practices identified in the scientific literature for treating effluent. View Document.

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Ecological Flows Assessment Presentation

Presentation by the Nature Conservancy to the Verde Watershed Association describing the Ecological Flows Assessment project. July, 2006 View Document.

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Ecological Implications of Verde River Flows – Full Report

Full report, 124 pages. The Verde River Ecological Flows study is a collaboration between The Nature Conservancy, Arizona Water Institute, and Verde River Basin Partnership. The purpose of the study is to develop a conceptual understanding of how the Verde River ecosystem would respond to variations in the river's hydrology—especially to decreases in river flows. The study team compiled and summarized what is known about the river's physical and ecological characteristics, drawing upon available data and what is known about hydrology-biology relationships on similar rivers. View Document.

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Flow Status of Arizona Rivers

View on screen a map showing the flow status of Arizona Rivers, courtesy of The Nature Conservancy.

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Managing Changing Landscapes in the Southwestern United States

Natural landscapes in the Southwestern United States are changing. In recent decades, rising temperatures and drought have led to drier conditions, contributed to large-scale ecological impacts, and affected many plant and animal species across the region. The current and future trajectory of climate change underscores the need for managers and conservation professionals to understand the impacts of these patterns on natural resources. In this regional assessment of the Southwest Climate Change Initiative, we evaluate changes in annual average temperatures from 1951–2006 across major habitats and large watersheds and compare these changes to the number of species of conservation concern that are found within these places. Report by The Nature Conservancy. View Document.

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Possible Effects of Groundwater Pumping on Surface Water in the Verde Valley, Arizona

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with The Nature Conservancy, has applied a groundwater model to simulate effects of groundwater pumping and artificial recharge on surface water in the Verde Valley sub-basin of Arizona. This is the summary of the full report. Results are in two sets of maps that show effects of locations of pumping or recharge on streamflow. These maps will help managers make decisions that will meet water needs and minimize environmental impacts. View Document.

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Rivers and Water Management in the Southwest

In the Southwest, the water needs of a rapidly expanding human population are coming in direct conflict with the water needs of natural systems. Rivers and wetlands support a disproportionately large number of plants and animals relative to the area they occupy and also offer multiple benefits to humans. Each freshwater ecosystem has varying degrees of reliance on surface water and groundwater. Maintaining a natural flow regime and shallow groundwater levels is critically important for sustaining them. Can water management to support continued growth be considered sustainable if it causes loss or impairment of our remaining rivers and wetlands? View Document.

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Sustainable Water Management in the Southwestern United States: Reality or Rhetoric?

While freshwater sustainability is generally defined as the provisioning of water for both people and the environment, in practice it is largely focused only on supplying water to furnish human population growth. Symptomatic of this is the state of Arizona, where rapid growth outside of the metropolitan Phoenix-Tucson corridor relies on the same groundwater that supplies year-round flow in rivers. Using Arizona as a case study, we present the first study in the southwestern United States that evaluates the potential impact of future population growth and water demand on streamflow depletion across multiple watersheds.
We modeled population growth and water demand through 2050 and used four scenarios to explore the potential effects of alternative growth and water management strategies on river flows. Under the base population projection, we found that rivers in seven of the 18 study watersheds could be dewatered due to municipal demand. Implementing alternative growth and water management strategies, however, could prevent four of these rivers from being dewatered.
The window of opportunity to implement water management strategies is narrowing. Because impacts from groundwater extraction are cumulative and cannot be immediately reversed, proactive water management strategies should be implemented where groundwater will be used to support new municipal demand. Our approach provides a low-cost method to identify where alternative water and growth management strategies may have the most impact, and demonstrates that such strategies can maintain a continued water supply for both people and the environment.
Published by The Nature Conservancy. View Document.

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Verde River Basin Water Budget

Map of Verde Watershed showing flow volume, water source volume, water use volume, and land use. View Document.

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Verde River Fish Richness

Nature Conservancy map showing the number of native fishes on Arizona rivers. View document.

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Verde River Watershed Conservation Plan

The Verde River watershed covers 4.2 million acres in central Arizona and includes about 500 miles of perennial streams. The Nature Conservancy has conducted a year-long planning exercise to identify the most effective actions for maintaining or restoring this watershed's native aquatic and riparian biodiversity. During a structured planning process, 64 individuals from 21 organizations contributed data, analyses, and ideas about the priority conservation needs and opportunities. We identified nonnative fish, crayfish, and frog species as the most critical sources of stress basin-wide, followed by groundwater pumping and climate change. Other threats were also ranked highly for particular natural communities in some parts of the watershed, including surface water diversions and large impoundments. Key strategies identified include the need for integrated management of groundwater and surface water, developing more efficient surface water management that meets both human needs and those of the natural systems, and watershed-scale planning to integrate native fish conservation with the demand for recreational fisheries. These results will guide the Conservancy's work for many years to come, and may be useful for other organizations that share similar goals. View Document.

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Verde Valley Public Opinion Survey Results

Presentation of results from a March 2012 survey of Verde Valley residents on attitudes about the river and water resources. View Document.