Coconino Plateau
Watershed Partnership
Coconino Plateau Technical Advisory Committee
Sustainable Water Management Plan
Overview and Status
July 29, 2016
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CPWP Boundary
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Background & Purpose
CPWAC Strategic Plan
Strategic Direction “Environmental and Sustainable Use”
Strategic Direction “Sustainable Regional WaterPlanning” = high priority
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Structure
Three-legged Stool
All three legs areequally important.
https://bekindtoustrolls.files.wordpress.com/2012/07/three-legged-stool.jpg
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StructureNested and interdependent spheres: • Environment (Natural Capital)
provides ecosystem services and natural resources for survival.
• Society or human capital sphere
• Economy governed by rules, regulation, and structures of Environment and Society
https://placeshakers.files.wordpress.com/2010/08/sustainability-nesting.jpg.
Sustainable Water Management
http://opensiuc.lib.siu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1094&context=jcwre, July 27, 2016
CPTAC:• Chose to develop
SWM planning based on a structure using criteria, indicators and measures
• Developed by Universities Council on Water Resources, Kranzetal. 2004
• Added criteria for social
Sustainable Water Management
SWM planning to protect and enhance water resources, striving to achieve balance between ecological, economic, and social needs.
Criteria: Point of reference
e.g. adequate municipal water supply
Indicator: The factor that may be changing
e.g. groundwater levels
Measure: A variable measured to assess progress
e.g. depth to groundwater
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Framework
Criteria• Community water supply• Ecosystem water supply• Social and economic measures• Add “adaptation strategies for climate
change”
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Framework
Ecological threshold
e.g. spring dries up and loss of species in ecosystem
Social threshold
e.g. reduced stream flow and inability to sport fish
Economics threshold
e.g. increased pumping costs due to declining groundwater levels
Sustainable Water ManagementProposed monitoring
Indicators to be developed:
ecologic thresholds – no data, this is a big deal
socio economic thresholds – economists and public polls
Ecosystem threshold data is not available for the region.
Data collection may require a minimum monitoring period of three years.
Socio economic thresholds require analysis of commercial water use, including minimums, and public perceptions of water needs for quality of life.
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SWM Reports and Compilation
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Appraisal Study
Report of Findings2006
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Referred to as “NARGFM”
Northern Arizona Regional Groundwater Flow Model
Sustainable Water ManagementCPWAC/CPTAC developed three future water demand scenarios. USGS used NARGFM to model each scenario to simulate the results.
USGS pending publication: Simulation of Groundwater Withdrawal Scenarios for the Redwall-Muav and Coconino Aquifer Systems of Northern and Central Arizona
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Report for SWM
byNatalie CostonNAU Student
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Water Demand/Supply
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NCAWSFS - COF prepared
groundwater flow model to assess potential RGR-Leupp pumping
Refined grid in vicinity of RGR
Sustainable Water ManagementData
compilation for SWM
Prioritizing At-Risk Waters
ByCoconino
Plateau At-Risk Waters Project
Core Team
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SWM and Social and Economic impactsUnder shortage, how long do businesses function?What is impact on social well being?
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CPTAC unsuccessfully applied for grant funds in 2013 and 2014 for SWM work.
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CPTAC - SWM Presentations by Others
Establishing Relationships and Potential Collaborations
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DLCC - Regional collaboration for data sharing and database repository that could be used
for Water Source Menu maps
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WRRCArizona
Environmental Water NeedsMethodology
Guidebook
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WRRC: Roadmap for Considering Water for Arizona’s Natural Areas
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WRRCArizona Desert Flows Database
Check what data are (are not)
available in your region.
Sustainable Water ManagementIn the 1900’s studies began to assess how much groundwater can be sustainably pumped. Safe yield versus sustainable yield are described with a variety of definitions.
USGS used the “Importance of scale”, “…sustainability of groundwater use is measured by the effect pumping has on specific surface-water and riparian features and by society’s willingness to accept those effects (Gungle et al., in press)
Published any day now!
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CPTAC developed framework for SWM planning.
Framework cannot be completed due to lack of data.
Establishing ecologic thresholds for two locations could take 3 to 5 years.
Establishing social and economic thresholds will require additional expertise.
What do other SWM planning efforts look like?
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QUESTIONS/COMMENTS
Deborah Tosline Ron Doba
[email protected] [email protected]
623-773-6277 480-299-5764