santa cruz ama virtual tour santa cruz ama virtual tour september 2000

Santa Cruz AMA Virtual Tour Santa Cruz AMA Virtual Tour

Santa Cruz AMA

Virtual Tour

September 2000


In 1980...…the Code created the Tucson AMA

But after 14 years... …the Code

created the Santa Cruz AMA

Santa Cruz AMA Virtual Tour Santa Cruz AMA Virtual Tour IntroductionIntroduction

Santa Cruz AMA Virtual Tour Santa Cruz AMA Virtual Tour Santa Cruz AMA Virtual Tour Santa Cruz AMA Virtual Tour IntroductionIntroduction


The management goal of the Santa Cruz AMA is to maintain a safe-yield condition in the active management area and to prevent local water tables from experiencing long-term declines.

§45-562(C)

Nogales

I-19

I-19 SR-82

PIMA

COUNTY

Amado SANTA

CRUZ

COUNTY

Tubac

Rio Rico


Land OwnershipIntroductionIntroduction

CoronadoNational

Forest

CoronadoNat’l

Forest

CoronadoNat’l

Forest

Land Ownership

StateLand

StateLand

StateLand

State Park

• SCAMA covers 716 square miles


• 37,000 people• Nogales, Rio Rico,

Tubac and Amado• Population concentrated

in Nogales and along the Santa Cruz River

• Large fluctuations in temporary residents

Nogales

Tubac

PIMA

COUNTY

Rio Rico

SANTA

CRUZ

COUNTY

Amado

Demographics


United States

Mexico

‘Ambos Nogales’

Binational IssuesIntroductionIntroduction

• Nogales, AZ population approximately 23,000

• Nogales, Mexico population approximately 300,000

• Binational watershed• Well fields in Arizona

downstream from well fields in Sonora

• Impact in AZ from water policies in Mexico

• Mexico’s right to return effluent flows

• Impact of additional development in Mexico


18-20"

16-18" 14-16"

20-22"

18-20"

28-30"

20-22"

20-22"

24-26"

24-26"

20-22"

26-28"

20-22"

Physical SettingPhysical SettingClimate

Mean annual precipitation

Santa Cruz AMA Virtual Tour Santa Cruz AMA Virtual Tour Physical SettingPhysical SettingSurface Water

Santa Cruz River

Sopori Wash

Sonoita Creek

Nogales Wash

Josephine Canyon


– Nogales Formation• oldest & deepest layer• low yield

– Older Alluvium• large storage• low transmissivity

– Younger Alluvium• productive & heavily used• 40 to 150 feet thick

Bedrock

Nogales Formation

Older Alluvium

Younger Alluvium

Physical SettingPhysical Setting

• Three layer aquifer system

Hydrogeology


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Blue: exempt Red: non-exempt

WellsPhysical SettingPhysical Setting

• ~1,300 registered wells

• Two-thirds of wells are exempt

Santa Cruz AMA Virtual Tour Santa Cruz AMA Virtual Tour DemandDemand

25,800 AF

10,300 AF

7,300 AF

1,500 AF

537 AF

8,600 AF

All water uses

Santa Cruz AMA Virtual Tour Santa Cruz AMA Virtual Tour SupplySupplyLow Range/Poor Year

Estimate (10th Percentile)

High Range/Good Year Estimate (90th Percentile)

Total supply 39,600 Total supply 142,900

Santa Cruz AMA Virtual Tour Santa Cruz AMA Virtual Tour BudgetBudgetSanta Cruz AMA Budget

0

20000

40000

60000

80000

100000

120000

140000

160000

19

85

19

86

19

87

19

88

19

89

19

90

19

91

19

92

19

93

19

94

19

95

19

96

19

97

19

98

19

99

YEAR

ACRE/FEET

0

20000

40000

60000

80000

100000

120000

140000

160000

ACRE/FEET

Municipal Demand Agriculture Demand

Industrial Demand Riparian Consumption

Underflow Leaving AMA Surface Flow Leaving AMA

10th Percentile Supply 50th Percentile Supply

90th Percentile Supply

Santa Cruz AMA Virtual Tour Santa Cruz AMA Virtual Tour BudgetBudget

• During wet years the aquifers get replenished and more water leaves the AMA

• The use of a long term water budget could be misleading due to limited storage capacity and fast movement of water in the younger alluvium

• Safe yield is assumed to be achieved in the long term

• In dry years the aquifers are overdrafted

Santa Cruz AMA Virtual Tour Santa Cruz AMA Virtual Tour Historic TrendsHistoric Trends


• Winter mix, bermuda, & fescue

• Mostly used for cattle pasture

• 65 irrigation rights (>10 AC)

• 24 rights using >50% of allotment

AgricultureAgriculture

• One irrigation right accounts for 1/3 to 1/2 of total use

0

2,000

4,000

6,000

8,000

10,000

12,000

14,000

Ac

re-F

ee

t

1995 1996 1997 1998

Agricultural Demand58-112480.0000 compared to all other

Irrigation Grandfathered Rights

Other Rights "Rio Rico Right"

0

2,000

4,000

6,000

8,000

10,000

12,000

14,000

Ac

re-F

ee

t

1995 1996 1997 1998

Agricultural Demand58-112480.0000 compared to all other

Irrigation Grandfathered Rights

Other Rights "Rio Rico Right"

Rio Rico irrigation acres

Tubac irrigation acres

Sopori irrigation acres

Santa Cruz AMA Virtual Tour Santa Cruz AMA Virtual Tour MunicipalMunicipal

• Four large providers (~90% of muni. demand)

• 750 domestic exempt wells

• Ten Small providers

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## ## #

# # ###### ## ## #

##

Tubac Valley W.C.

Valle Verde W.C.

Rio Rico Utilities

City of Nogales W.C.


b

b

b b

• Four golf courses• One regulated sand &

gravel facility

IndustrialIndustrial

Rio Rico

Tubac

Palo Duro

Kino Springs

San Xavier Sand & Gravel

Santa Cruz AMA Virtual Tour Santa Cruz AMA Virtual Tour RiparianRiparian

• ~26,000 AF of riparian evapo-transpiration

• Nogales International Wastewater Treatment Plant (NIWWTP) is primary source of water

NIWWTP

Santa Cruz AMA Virtual Tour Santa Cruz AMA Virtual Tour ProjectionsProjections

Projected Water UseBy sector, for 'Conservation Scenario'

0

2,000

4,000

6,000

8,000

10,000

12,000

2000 2005 2010 2015 2020 2025Year

Acr

e fe

et

Agriculture

Municipal

Industrial

Santa Cruz AMA Virtual Tour Santa Cruz AMA Virtual Tour Issues and ChallengesIssues and Challenges

• Conjunctive Management of Surface Water and Groundwater

- Impact on surface water rights by groundwater pumping

- Community desire to protect riparian habitat

- Physical challenge in developing recharge facilities

- Difficulty in measuring achievement of management programs

• Maintain the AMA goal in a highly variable system

• Lack of access to renewable water supplies

Santa Cruz AMA Virtual Tour Santa Cruz AMA Virtual Tour Issues and ChallengesIssues and Challenges

• Implementation of Assured Water Supply Rules

• Establishment of well spacing criteria

• Work with local water users to propose legislation to create a replenishment/water district authority

• Continue dialogue with local, state and federal agencies in Mexico to negotiate agreements in future effluent uses


• Increase in hydrological data collection

• Evaluation of natural water demands and supplies

• Publication of the Third Management Plan as Santa Cruz AMA

• Establishment of binational cooperation in hydrological data collection and exchange

•Support the efforts to reach a surface water claims settlement prior to adjudication

•Refined understanding of the hydrological conditions by the development of surface and groundwater models

•Funding grants to explore water augmentation opportunities

AMA AccomplishmentsAMA Accomplishments

Santa Cruz AMA Virtual Tour Santa Cruz AMA Virtual Tour Santa Cruz AMA Santa Cruz AMA

santa cruz ama virtual tour santa cruz ama virtual tour september 2000

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