Rainfall and runoff relationships along the central highland of Arizona and western New Mexico

Abstract

Plans to transport water into central and southern Arizona, such as the Central Arizona Project portion of the Southwest Water Plan, will not satisfy water requirements in the near future. It is therefore essential that better use be made of the water falling as precipitation on the basins tributary to southern Arizona. The best water producing area in this region is called the Central Highlands, and is the area under study in this thesis. Although previous workers have completed studies for parts of the Central Highland region, rainfall-runoff relations for the whole area are not available. Relations between rainfall and runoff are expressed in terms of correlation coefficients and runoff ratios. These factors are also discussed in relation to various basin characteristics. A general decline in both correlation coefficients and runoff ratios is noted, and is believed to be associated with the decline of precipitation in the Southwest. It is shown that generally higher correlations are obtained between runoff in the Verde basin and that in each of the others, than between runoff and precipitation within the same basin.