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Why is this study important?
It is the product of the authorization by the United States Congress for the United States Geological Survey (USGS) to assist in a collaborative and science-based water-resource planning and management partnership for the Verde River Basin. It describes the investigations needed in support of that authorization that will fulfill water-resource planning and management needs and identify long-term water-supply management options within the Verde River Basin.
Title II of Public Law 109-110, the Northern Arizona Land Exchange and Verde River Basin Partnership Act of 2005 (S.161), authorizes the United States Geological Survey (USGS) to assist in a collaborative and science-based water-resource planning and management partnership for the Verde River Basin. Section 204 of Title II calls for the Partnership to prepare a plan for conducting water-resource studies in the Verde River Basin (fig. 1). This document is a draft of the plan and will serve as a guide for future water-resource studies in support of Title II. This document, referred to herein as the plan, describes the investigations needed in support of Title II that will fulfill water-resource planning and management needs and identify long-term water-supply management options within the Verde River Basin. The plan outlines the tasks required to meet the deliverables of Title II. As stated in the legislation, these deliverables include: (1) a water-budget analysis of the Middle Verde River Basin and a report of a preliminary analysis of potential long-term consequences of various water-use scenarios within 14 months after the date of enactment of the Act; (2) a preliminary report submitted by the Partnership that sets forth findings and recommendations of the Partnership regarding the long-term availability of water supply within the Verde Valley within 16 months after the enactment of the Act, and; (3) a final report four years after enactment of the Act that summarizes results of water-resource assessments conducted under Title II, that identifies: (1) areas determined to have groundwater deficits; (2) long-term water-supply management options; and (3) analyses and monitoring needed to support implementation of management options. The approach used to meet the needs of Title II will include a variety of work elements designed to take advantage of on-going studies, previously published findings, documented groundwater flow models, and other existing data. The Northern Arizona Regional Groundwater Flow Model (NARGFM), currently (March 2009) near completion, represents a valuable tool for water-resource management in the study area that can help estimate effects on Verde River flow resulting from groundwater withdrawals. The development of the model helped identify several types of information in various areas of the middle and upper Verde Watersheds that, if collected and included, would improve conceptualization of the groundwater flow system and the model. This revised Title II Science Plan targets collection of the particular data that: (1) address the named deliverables in Title II, and (2) will result in modeling tools targeted to best address water-resources in the study area. The work elements include an evaluation and refinement of the water budget and the reporting of potential long-term consequences of various water-use scenarios. Information gained from development of the NARGFM and review of recent and on-going studies and documents will be used to identify data deficiencies. This information will be used to plan and carry out new studies and develop a monitoring network designed to improve our understanding of the hydrologic setting that will assist in evaluating long-term hydrologic responses to climate and resource development. CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL REPORT
