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Local Drought
In 2024, The Santa Cruz Watershed Collaborative initiated a three-year local drought planning effort in partnership with SCWC Partners, project collaborators, and regional stakeholders to develop a coordination blueprint to create resilience.
Guiding Questions
How can our city and county drought plans shift to be responsive to local drought and groundwater levels?
How can drought response be best coordinated across jurisdictions & with the public?
Our Approach
SCWC is developing drought resilience recommendations based on watershed-wide coordination of diverse stakeholders to integrate planning efforts and identify holistic response recommendations which can be well coordinated among the City, County, Tribes, private groundwater users, and various water utilities in the region to ensure water reliability during periods of local shortages and droughts. A Drought Technical Advisory Group meets quarterly to advise the process and interviews with regional stakeholders and focus groups inform recommendations and potential strategies for drought resilience to protect watershed health.
We encourage our partners to help spread the word about local drought conditions and stewardship during dry times. Download this suggested text to send to your audience:
Drought Articles for June.pdfExpected Outcomes
Framework of coordinated drought resilience strategies and recommended actions considering both water security and local watershed health;
Identification of a set of local drought indicators to inform recommended responses by partners;
Communications toolkit and resources informed by drought status and audience group;
Visual storymap hosted on SCWC website to share drought resilience recommendations and track Watershed Health Indicators;
Build consensus by facilitating adoption of drought resilience strategies, drought indicators, and recommended actions by SCWC Coordinating Team as a supplement to the 2022 SCWC Watershed Restoration Plan.
Why This Work Matters
The Tucson Active Management Area which has a close geographical boundary to SCWC’s watershed boundary includes a supply portfolio consisting of 44% groundwater and 49% imported Colorado River water. With expected reductions in Colorado River water this will increase pressure on local groundwater supplies. When paired with local drought this will amplify pressure on groundwater resources and the human and natural communities they sustain. A historic low-rainfall year occurred in 2020-2021 which highlighted water reliability issues for many upland groundwater users and groundwater-supported riparian ecosystems along local creeks and rivers.
The City of Tucson and Pima County both have drought response plans, however, the plans are tied to Colorado River supplies at Lake Mead, several hundred miles away. And, at that time Lake Mead levels did not trigger further drought response from either jurisdiction. Neither jurisdiction declared a local drought nor took any action during this record low-rainfall year. Shallow groundwater levels dropped significantly (10-30+ feet) in many of these areas resulting in declines in riparian ecosystem forest health. This coordination blueprint will help to implement local drought indicators to trigger local drought responses to increase water resilience across our natural and human communities.
Want to Get Involved? We're Inviting Your Participation!
Share drought messaging in your organization and with the public to encourage smart water use. Some simple examples are:
During acute local drought: Water trees thoroughly, tread carefully when near waterways, stay updated on fire restrictions, provide fresh water for wildlife, utilize rain barrel storage and mulch, and conserve water in other areas.
During wetter times: Celebrate seasons of abundant monsoons and winter rains by getting to know our natural heritage of desert creeks and harvesting rainwater at your home or business. Save that water for a dry day! Together, we can support and enjoy the desert’s bounty.
Participate in a stakeholder interview. We'd appreciate the opportunity to hear your perspectives. Contact SCWCollaborative@gmail.com to schedule.
Explore this growing resource list and stay tuned for additional resources as we go about this process.
Project Partners
Watershed Management Group
Pima County Regional Flood Control District
City of Tucson Water Department
Pima Association of Governments
Climate Assessment for the Southwest (CLIMAS)
Santa Cruz Watershed Collaborative Partners
Regional Stakeholders
Funding
Funding has been contributed by the Water Infrastructure Finance Authority of Arizona as well as the Bureau of Reclamation.
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