8009 ‎(2)‎

• UCREFRP Catalog Number: 8009
• Author: Natural Resources Law Center.
• Title: Restoring the Waters.
• USFW Year: 1997.
• USFW - Doc Type: Boulder, CO.
• Copyright Material: YES

Arizona Department of Water Resources
estimates that about 75% of the discharge
to the Santa Cruz eventually recharges the
aquifer.
Legislation adopted in 1994 consolidated
various recharge-related legislation into the
Underground Water Storage, Savings and
Replenishment Program. This program
broadened the opportunities for aquifer
recharge programs and developed criteria
for both constructed and managed re-
charge facilities. A number of sites within
the Tucson AMA are suitable for recharge
and storage of tens of 1,000s of acre-feet
of water. Some potential sites, however,
have been found unsuitable due to local-
ized ground water contamination or long
distances between the recharge sites and
either the source water or point of use.
Despite these limitations, several entities
have joined in efforts to construct recharge
projects that also enhance adjacent
riparian areas. During periods of low
demand for effluent, Tucson's Sweetwater
recharge facilities pump excess effluent
into eight basins where it is allowed to sink
into the water table. Wetlands are also
used to treat backwash water from the
water reclamation plant to meet secondary
effluent water quality standards. The
treated backwash water is then recharged.
The basins can recharge up to 6,500 acre-
feet of effluent per year. Extraction wells
pump the recharged water back into the
water reclamation plant for distribution
during peak summer demand.
An experimental project is also underway
on the lower Santa Cruz River within the
Town of Marana. The site was chosen
because it is one of the few stable places
where effluent can be diverted from the
river channel without invasive earthworks
and without diminishing flows to the most
significant effluent-supported riparian
areas along the river.
For Further Information Contact: Factors limiting effluent reuse
Katherine L. Jacobs
in Tucson
Area Director, Tucson AMA ^ Timing
400 West Congress Street, Suite 518 About 75% of reclaimed water is
Tucson, AZ 85701 used in the summer and demand
Phone: [phone] on any given day can exceed
Fax: [phone] effluent production more than
2to1.
Mitch Basefsky ^ Limited distribution systems
City of Tucson, Tucson Water Distribution systems are not
P.O. Box 27210 currently available for transport to
Tucson, AZ 85726 large agricultural users and mines
Phone: [phone] or to turf-related users outside of
Fax: [phone] the Tucson metropolitan area.
^ Chemical incompatibility
Arizona Riparian Council The chemical composition of the
Center for Environmental Studies effluent is not always compatible
Arizona State University with certain metallurgical
P.O. Box 873211 processes, thereby making use of
Tempe, AZ 85287-3211 effluent in mining operation
Phone: [phone] problematic.
Fax: [phone] ^ SouthernArizona Water Rights
Settlement Act
This act entitles the Secretary of
the Interior to 28,000 acre-feet of
C~ effluent annually to settle Indian
water rights claims. The tribes
may not want to use the water
directly, and distribution and
marketing mechanisms are not yet
in place.
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