Earth fissures and related subsidence features adjacent to the Tucson Aqueduct, Central Arizona Project, Pinal and Pima Counties, Arizona
Issue Date
1993Keywords
Arizona Geological Survey Open File ReportsCentral Arizona Project
Tucson Aqueduct
Pinal County
Pima County
Arizona
aquifer
groundwater
geologic hazards
subsidenc
earth fissures
Geology
CAP
subsidence
Metadata
Show full item recordCitation
Slaff, S., 1993, Earth fissures and related subsidence features adjacent to the Tucson Aqueduct, Central Arizona Project, Pinal and Pima Counties, Arizona. Arizona Geological Survey Open File Report, OFR-93-11, 6 map sheets, 18 p.Publisher
Arizona Geological Survey (Tucson, AZ)Description
Earth fissures are a geologic hazard that could interrupt delivery of water to users of the Central Arizona Project (CAP) Tucson Aqueduct. Since the first earth fissure reported in Arizona was discovered near Eloy in 1927 (Leonard, 1929), dozens more have formed in Picacho basin and Avra Valley. The planned location of the Tucson Aqueduct in Picacho basin was changed to minimize the likelihood of damage by fissures and land subsidence, but the hazard is so widespread that the potentially harmful areas could not be avoided entirely. In 1988, the "Sandario Road" fissure formed near Marana High School in Avra Valley. The area had been identified in a previous study as a zone of potential hazard. The fissure cracked the aqueduct but did not drain it, probably because the aqueduct was specially reinforced there due to the recognized potential for damage. Good planning minimized repair costs and, if the aqueduct had been in operation then, would have prevented an interruption in service. Periodic monitoring of the Tucson Aqueduct is required because early detection of a problem is the best way to achieve a timely, less expensive solution. The u.S. Bureau of Reclamation (USBR) conducts bimonthly inspections of all known fissures located close to the CAP. The object of this investigation is to identify any additional existing features near the Tucson Aqueduct that should be included in the bimonthly inspections. (18 pages)Additional Links
http://repository.azgs.az.gov/uri_gin/azgs/dlio/293Language
enSeries/Report no.
OFR-93-11Rights
Arizona Geological Survey. All rights reserved.Collection Information
Documents in the AZGS Document Repository collection are made available by the Arizona Geological Survey (AZGS) and the University Libraries at the University of Arizona. For more information about items in this collection, please contact azgs-info@email.arizona.edu.North Bounding Coordinate
32.7761South Bounding Coordinate
31.9689West Bounding Coordinate
-111.621East Bounding Coordinate
-110.912Collections
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