A Rational Water Policy for Desert Cities
Affiliation
Agricultural Engineering, Soils, Water and Engineering Department, University of ArizonaIssue Date
1974-04-20Keywords
Hydrology -- Arizona.Water resources development -- Arizona.
Hydrology -- Southwestern states.
Water resources development -- Southwestern states.
Arid lands
Water shortage
Water supply
Water policy
Water conservation
Regulation
Water resources
Governments
Planning
Water allocation (policy)
Water utilization
Rainfall
Runoff
Groundwater
Water wells
Groundwater recharge
Groundwater availability
Imported water
Water demand
Water rates
Urban runoff
Arizona
Desert cities
Tucson (Ariz)
Metadata
Show full item recordRights
Copyright ©, where appropriate, is held by the author.Collection Information
This article is part of the Hydrology and Water Resources in Arizona and the Southwest collections. Digital access to this material is made possible by the Arizona-Nevada Academy of Science and the University of Arizona Libraries. For more information about items in this collection, contact anashydrology@gmail.com.Publisher
Arizona-Nevada Academy of ScienceAbstract
Four sources of water supply for desert cities are rainfall, runoff, groundwater, and imported water, and the potential use for each varies. The government can institute various policy changes to eliminate or reduce the imbalance between water supply and demand. Restrictions should be placed on water-use luxuries such as swimming pools, subdivision lakes, fountains, etc. Water pricing should be progressive; each unit of increased use above a reasonable minimum should be charged for at an increasing rate. Runoff from individual properties, homes, storage, and supermarkets should be minimized through the use of onsite recharge wells, and various collection methods should be initiated. A campaign to acquaint the general public with a new water policy must be inaugurated.ISSN
0272-6106Related items
Showing items related by title, author, creator and subject.
-
Quantifying Spatial Variability of Snow Water Equivalent, Snow Chemistry, and Snow Water Isotopes: Application to Snowpack Water Balance(The University of Arizona., 2008)This study quantifies spatial and temporal patterns in snow water equivalent (SWE), chemistry, and water isotopes associated with snowpack shading due to aspect and vegetation in the Valles Caldera National Preserve, New Mexico. Depth, density, stratigraphy, temperature, and snow chemistry, isotope, and biogeochemical nutrient samples were collected and analyzed from five snowpit locations on approximate monthly intervals between January-April 2007. SWE showed little variability between sites in January (~10mm) but differences expanded to 84mm (30%) by max accumulation in open sites and 153mm (45%) between all sites. Sulfate varied by 22% (10.6-13.5 microeq/L), Cl- by 35% (17.4-26.9 microeq/L), and d18O by 17% (-16.3 to -13.5), with SWE exhibiting inverse correlations with d18O (r2=0.96), SO42- (r2=0.75), and Cl- (r2=0.60) at max accumulation. Regression relationships suggest variability in SWE and solutes/water isotopes are primarily driven by sublimation. Mass balance techniques estimate sublimation ranges from 1-16% between topographically- and non-shaded open sites.
-
Flow and water quality relations between surface water and ground water in the Puerco River basin near Chambers, Arizona(The University of Arizona., 1990)The Puerco River is an ephemeral stream that received effluent from uranium-mine dewatering operations from the 1950's until 1962 and from 1968 until mining ceased in 1986. Flow and water-quality relations between the Puerco River and the alluvial aquifer underlying it were investigated at a site near Chambers. Data collection included installing and sampling nine monitor wells and two drive points; monitoring stage and sampling surface water; and slug testing wells. The stream recharges the alluvial aquifer during periods of flow and the streambed is a location of ground-water discharge by evapotranspiration during periods of no flow. Discharge by evapotranspiration may exceed recharge thus reducing the potential for contaminant movement away from the river by advective transport. Geochemical modeling indicates that uranium minerals are undersaturated in the range in Eh observed. A +0.84 correlation was calculated relating dissolved uranium concentration to depth in monitor wells suggesting the stream is a source of uranium to the alluvial aquifer. (Abstract shortened with permission of author.)
-
Modeling of ground-water flow and surface water/ground-water interactions of the San Pedro River Basin, Cochise County, Arizona(The University of Arizona., 1992)Ground-water exploitation in the Upper San Pedro Basin has produced the formation of a cone of depression around the Sierra Vista-Fort Huachuca area. A portion of the mountain front recharge that otherwise would reach the San Pedro River is being intercepted by pumping, and portions of baseflow are being captured by pumping. The purpose of this study is to construct a simulation model capable of simulating the ground-water system as well as the ground-water-surface water interactions. The flow simulation was done by a three-dimensional, finite-difference ground-water flow model (MODFLOW) that incorporates a new stream-aquifer interaction package. Steady state simulations were performed to represent mean annual conditions. Transient simulations cover a 48 year period, starting in 1940 and ending in 1988. A sensitivity analysis of the steady state model was also performed.
