Freshwater assessment reports & data

San Pedro River Wet-Dry Maps (January 2012)

The San Pedro River wet/dry mapping dataset is a community effort to track the river’s health by monitoring the persistence of surface water during the driest time of each year. It is created by recording the end points of every wet section of the San Pedro River during June each year. Maps depict the wet portion of the San Pedro River.

• 2011 Wet-Dry Maps (updated 1/24/2012)
• 2010 Wet-Dry Maps (updated 10/4/2010)
• 2009 Wet-Dry Maps (updated 2/24/2010)
• 2008 Wet-Dry Maps (updated 8/26/2008)
• 2007 Wet-Dry Maps (updated 4/14/2008)

Wet/Dry Mapping: Using Citizen Scientists to Monitor the Extent of Perennial Surface Flow (February 2011)

Published in Environmental Management, this article describes a simple method for monitoring the flow status of interrupted perennial streams, with the example of a 12-year effort on the San Pedro River. We found that surface flow increased for parts of the river, apparently due to conservation actions, while other parts were stable or may have declined. The data allowed us to map areas with surface flow in every year, totaling 32% of the river length through the San Pedro Riparian National Conservation Area (SPRNCA). These maps show areas with high year-to-year variation in flow length, which indicate changes in local groundwater conditions and may provide early warning of ecological changes.

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Arizona Statewide Freshwater Assessment GIS Data Package (December 2010)

Includes 4 GIS datasets mapped to 1:100,000 scale stream-based hydrography for Arizona, including 1) the habitat for 33 native fish species, 2) former and current perennial surface flow for Arizona’s rivers, 3) the distribution of threatened and endangered species (ESA) that require aquatic or riparian habitats, and 4) Wild and Scenic River designations. Updated Dec 2010.

• Freshwater Assessment ArcGIS data (11 MB)
• Freshwater Assessment Google Earth KML (5 MB)

Sustainable Water Management in the Southwestern United States: Reality or Rhetoric? (July 2010)

Published in PLoS ONE, this study used four scenarios to explore the potential effects of alternative growth and water management strategies on river flows. Under the base population projection, we found that rivers in seven of the 18 study watersheds could be dewatered due to municipal demand. Our approach provides a low-cost method to identify where alternative water and growth management strategies may have the most impact, and demonstrates that such strategies can maintain a continued water supply for both people and the environment.

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Ecological Implications of Verde River Flows (February 2008)

Presents a literature review and results of a May 2007 workshop where 35 subject experts from 16 agencies and institutions synthesized the state of knowledge for central Arizona’s Verde River. Report describes the river’s ecosystem, including its hydrology, geomorphology, riparian, and aquatic habitats, and fish and wildlife species – and how components would respond to changes in surface- and groundwater flows.

• Executive Summary (2.7 MB)
• Verde River Ecological Flows Report (4.1 MB)

Habitat Mapping and Conservation Analysis to Identify Critical Streams for Arizona’s Native Fish (November 2007)

Describes the methods used to develop a GIS dataset for 33 native fish species in Arizona, presents results of some analyses using the data, and describes the data’s utility for the conservation of native fish. This is a preprint of an article published in Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems, Vol. 17: 737-748 (2007).

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