The town of superior, located in south-central arizona, will engage with stakeholders to create the upper queen creek watershed group to understand the issues and needs related to water quality,…

The Town of Superior, Arizona, was awarded a $245,308 Project Grant from the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation's Cooperative Watershed Management Program (CFDA 15.554) to engage stakeholders and create the Upper Queen Creek Watershed Group. The group will develop a watershed restoration plan, establish a baseline assessment, create monitoring plans, and prioritize projects to address water quality and quantity issues within the Upper Queen Creek Watershed, which has been impacted by mineral extraction activities. The grant period runs from September 2024 to September 2027, with the goal of bringing together government agencies, tribes, recreation groups, landowners, and mining interests to collaboratively manage the watershed and restore its ecological health.

The town of superior, located in south-central arizona, will engage with stakeholders to create the upper queen creek watershed group to understand the issues and needs related to water quality, quantity, and watershed restoration within the upper queen creek watershed. Home to one of the largest copper deposits in the world, mineral extraction has impacted water quality within the upper queen creek watershed. Approximately 36 miles of streams in the watershed are recorded as impaired for copper and lead on the arizona clean water act 303(d) list. The new watershed group aims to bring together state and local government agencies, including the arizona department of environmental quality, tribes, recreation and tourism groups, local ranchers and landowners, and mining interests to create a watershed restoration plan for the upper queen creek watershed, develop a baseline assessment of the watershed, create monitoring plans to understand the long-term function of the watershed, and prioritize projects and sites based on the priorities group.