The watershed management group, INC. Will collaborate with sky island alliance to develop a strategic plan to enhance groundwater recharge opportunities in the lower santa cruz watershed in pima…

The U.S. Department of the Interior's Bureau of Reclamation awarded a $351,057 Project Grant under the WaterSMART (Sustain and Manage America's Resources for Tomorrow) program to The Watershed Management Group, Inc. to develop a strategic plan to enhance groundwater recharge opportunities in the Lower Santa Cruz Watershed in Pima County, Arizona. This project will collaborate with Sky Island Alliance to survey springs, creeks, and arroyos, assess management needs, identify priority restoration sites, and develop conceptual project plans and implementation strategies. The goal is to mitigate flood risk and increase groundwater recharge to address the impacts of warmer winters, drought conditions, and intense summer storms in the watershed, which contributes significant recharge to the Tucson regional aquifers. The project partners will work closely with water management agencies, including the Pima County Regional Flood Control District and the U.S. Forest Service, to implement this plan from September 2024 through September 2027.

The watershed management group, INC. Will collaborate with sky island alliance to develop a strategic plan to enhance groundwater recharge opportunities in the lower santa cruz watershed in pima county, arizona. The lower santa cruz watershed contributes significant recharge to the tucson regional aquifers however, warmer winters are providing less snowmelt to nourish upland springs and replenish downstream aquifers. Drought conditions and more intense summer storms have increased flood risk and reduced recharge potential in the watershed. The project partners will utilize the diverse stakeholder and subject-matter expertise of the santa cruz watershed collaborative to identify priority project sites to mitigate flood risk and increase recharge, and will survey springs, creeks, and arroyos to assess management needs and identify priority restoration sites, and develop conceptual project plans and an implementation strategies. This effort compliments the existing watersmart lower santa cruz river basin study and the santa cruz watershed collectives watershed restoration plan. The project partners will collaborate closely with water management agencies, including the pima county regional flood control district, and the U.S. Forest service.