ARIZONA DEPARTMENT OF WATER RESOURCES
3550 North Central Avenue, Phoenix, Arizona 85012
Telephone (602) 771-8426
Janice K. Brewer
Governor
Sandra A. Fabritz-Whitney
Director
Monthly Agency Report August 2011
Director’s Schedule
On August 4th, Director Fabritz-Whitney will present “ADWR Priorities” before the Central Arizona Project Board of Directors.
On August 9th, Director Fabritz-Whitney will meet with the Colorado River Advisory Council.
On August 11th, Director Fabritz-Whitney is a featured speaker at the CLE Arizona Law of the River Conference being held at the Arizona Biltmore.
Surface Water Rights Permitting
Post-Wildfire Flood Mitigation
In August, ADWR will support the statewide response for mitigating adverse consequences of post-fire flooding in the following ways:
· Install two or more rain gauges within the Murphy-Complex burn area in Santa Cruz County and two or more rain gauges in the Horseshoe 2 fire in Cochise County. This information will assist the National Weather Service in issuing timely and accurate flood warnings and provide early warning to local areas.
· Continue to coordinate and assist affected counties and the Burn Area Emergency Response (BAER) Teams in each of the burn areas in identifying flood warning needs.
· On August 3rd, Mr. Brian Cosson will participate in a meeting at ADEM to discuss funding sources for post-fire mitigation through the Clean Water Act (CWA) Section 319 grant program. ADWR has been identified by ADEM as a potential subgrant applicant for this program.
Dam Safety
The following Dam Safety inspections are scheduled:
· On August 3rd, through August 5th, Michael Johnson, Assistant Director for Engineering & Permits, will attend a meeting in Washington DC of the National Dam Safety Review Board, of which he is a member. The eleven-member Review Board includes representatives from the five federal agencies that own and/or regulate dams - U.S. Department of Agriculture, Department of Defense, Department of the Interior, FEMA and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. The Board also includes five state dam safety officials and one private-sector member. The responsibilities of the Review Board include advising the administrator of FEMA, consulting with FEMA on funding for states participating in the National Dam Safety Program, and monitoring state implementation of the assistance program. All travel costs will be paid by FEMA.
Dam Safety staff will oversee construction activities at several dams:
§ On August 5th, Dam Safety Engineer Charles Merritt, P.E. will inspect the Lynx Creek Dam owned by the Town of Prescott Valley. The lake was recently dredged and the result of that work will be one of the points for inspection.
§ On August 11th, Merritt will inspect the Judy Wash and Central Detention Dams in Graham County. Judy Wash Dam owned by the San Jose Canal Company has an identified safety deficiency lack of an adequate emergency action plan. Central Detention Dam is located on privately-owned land and is maintained by Graham County. Central Detention is classified as “unsafe” pending the evaluation of flood-passing capacity.
§ On August 19th, Dam Safety Inspector Craig Brown will inspect Canyon Mouth, Railroad, and Pan Dams owned by Burlington Northern Santa Fe located in Yavapai County.
§ On August 24th, Merritt will inspect Woodland and Jaques Dams in Navajo County. Woodland Dam owned by Show Low/Pinetop/Woodland Irrigation Company has an identified safety deficiency lack of an adequate emergency action plan. Jaques Dam owned by the City of Show Low is classified as “unsafe” pending the evaluation of flood-passing capacity.
§ On August 26th,Dam Safety Engineer Nicole Spence-Gibson will inspect Continental No. 1, Continental No. 2 and Odell Dams located in Coconino County. Continental 1 and 2 Dams are owned by the Flagstaff Golf Maintenance Company and Continental Country Club, respectively. Odell Dam is owned by the Pinewood Country Club and is classified as “unsafe” pending the evaluation of flood-passing capacity.
Dam Safety staff will continue construction oversight of repair and rehabilitation projects at Magma FRS Dam operated by Magma Flood Protection District in Pinal County and White Tanks FRS No. 4 Dam operated by the Flood Control District of Maricopa County (FCDMC).
Dam Safety Engineer Nicole Spence-Gibson will participate in rehabilitation planning, design and construction meetings for three dams operated and maintained by the FCDMC:
§ On August 4th rehabilitation planning meeting for Buckeye FRS No.1 Dam. The dam is located in western Maricopa County and provides valuable flood protection for Interstate-10, the Town of Buckeye, and surrounding farming operations.The dam is classified as “unsafe” due to embankment cracking. The FCDMC requested federal assistance under Public Law 106-472 for a rehabilitation project to address this dam safety concern and to maintain the flood control benefits to the downstream properties for the next 100 years.
§ On August 11th construction meeting for rehabilitation of White Tanks FRS No. 4 Dam. The dam is located in western Maricopa County and provides flood protection to the City of Goodyear. ADWR received the construction permit to perform this work on December 1, 2010 and approved it on February 4, 2011. Construction is anticipated to be completed by early 2012.
§ On August 25th rehabilitation planning meeting for Saddleback FRS Dam. The dam is located in western Maricopa County and provides flood protection for farmland located in Harquahala Valley and the Town of Tonopah. Saddleback FRS has experienced the formation of numerous erosion holes and cracks along the entire length of centerline of the dam crest. The FCDMC requested federal assistance for a rehabilitation project to address this dam safety concern and to maintain flood control benefits.
Floodplain Management
August 3rd - 5th, Community Assistance Program (CAP) Coordinator Mr. Steve Dolan will conduct a National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) Community Assistance Visit (CAV) for the City of Flagstaff and Coconino County that includes field tours of buildings constructed within the FEMA 100-year floodplain. On August 23rd and 24th, Dolan will conduct the CAV office meetings with the City of Flagstaff and Coconino County to evaluate and provide technical assistance for the community's floodplain management program. The CAV findings will be in a report to the communities and to Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Region IX, which funds the program.
August 16th - 19th, RiskMAP Coordinator Ms. Maureen Towne and FEMA Region IX staff will attend meetings with floodplain administrators in Pima County, Yavapai County and the City of Flagstaff to discuss current and future floodplain mapping studies.
On August 25th, Mr. Brian Cosson and Mr. Steve Dolan will conduct an NFIP FEMA Elevation Certificate workshop at the City of Flagstaff Council Chambers as one of the CAP technical assistance workshops provided to Arizona communities.
Water Resources Development Commission schedule:
On August 8th, the Water Resources Development Commission Recommendations Working Group will meet in the ADWR Verde Conference Room at 10:00.
Regional Water Planning Outreach Team
August 2, Upper Agua Fria Watershed Partnership meeting in Cordes Junction
August 4, Yavapai Technical Advisory Committee meeting in Cottonwood
August 4, Yavapai Technical Working Group meeting Cottonwood
August 5, Hualapai Settlement meeting at ADWR
August 8, WRDC Recommendation Committee meeting
August 8, Navajo Hopi Tribal Settlement Conference Call
August 9, Show Low Creek Watershed Enhancement Partnership meeting in Pinetop
August 10, Upper San Pedro Partnership meeting in Sierra Vista
August 10, Gila Watershed Partnership meeting in Safford
August 11, WRDC Finance Work Group meeting,
August 16, SRP/Yavapai Apache Settlement meeting at ADWR
August 17, Verde Watershed Association meeting in Prescott
August 17, Yavapai WAC meeting in Prescott
August 17, Northwest Watershed Council meeting in Kingman
August 18, Upper Little Colorado River Watershed Partnership meeting in Eagar
August 19, NAMWUA TAC meeting in Prescott
August 22, White Mountain Apache Settlement meeting at ADWR
August 23,Community Watershed Alliance meeting in Benson
August 25, Coconino Plateau Executive Committee meeting in Flagstaff
August 25, Coconino Plateau Technical Advisory Committee meeting in Flagstaff
August 26, Coconino Plateau Government Affairs Committee meeting in Flagstaff
August 26, Coconino Plateau Public Outreach Committee meeting in Flagstaff
August 26, Coconino Plateau Water Advisory Council meeting in Flagstaff
August 31, Upper San Pedro TAC meeting in Sierra Vista
Water Management
On August 2nd, Ruth Greenhouse will participate in the quarterly meeting of the Statewide Drought Monitoring Technical Committee. The primary purpose of this meeting is to review the conditions and impacts that determine updates to the long term drought status map.
On August 5th, Ms. Greenhouse will attend the quarterly Statewide Conservation InfoShare meeting in Flagstaff. The meeting will include presentations about water resources and rainwater harvesting.
On August 22nd, Recharge Manager Doug Dunham, Hydrologist Tracey Carpenter, Diane Kusel, and Lou Bota are scheduled to meet Mark Freebury, Geohydrologist with SRP Groundwater and CAP representatives to discuss the status of an existing Underground Storage Facility Permit for the Superstition Mountain Recharge Project.
Also on August 22nd, Recharge Staff Diane Kusel, Lori Cason, and Hydrologist Tracey Carpenter are scheduled to meet with Cliff Cauthen, General Manager of the Hohokam Irrigation District to review the District’s Groundwater Storage Facility Permit and discuss the possibility for the District to apply for a volume increase.
This month Assistant Director of the Water Planning Division Thomas Buschatzke and AMA Director Scott Miller will facilitate meetings of the Phoenix AMA, Tucson AMA, and Santa Cruz AMA Groundwater Users Advisory Council. Council members will discuss their recommendations for setting the groundwater withdrawal fees for 2012.
Water Protection Fund
On August 9th, the Executive Committee of the Arizona Water Protection Fund will meet at 10:00 a.m. in the Verde Conference Room at ADWR.
Colorado River Management
On August 2nd, Perri Benemelis, Don Gross, Deanna Ikeya and Tricia McCraw will participate in a conference call with U.S. Bureau of Reclamation representatives to discuss future Arizona Colorado River water shortage strategies.
On August 4th, Mr. Gross and Ms. Ikeya will participate in a conference call with the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation and Central Arizona Project representatives. The purpose of the call, which occurs on a monthly basis between CAP and Reclamation’s Boulder City Office, is to coordinate CAP diversions and deliveries and to discuss any other operational issues associated with the Colorado River.
On August 4th, Ms. Benemelis and Ms. McCraw will participate in a conference call with the Bureau of Reclamation and Multi-Species Conservation Program Committee members to continue discussions regarding the development of Remedial Measures Policy for the program. The MSCP is a comprehensive, long-term multi-agency effort to conserve and affect the recovery of endangered species, while ensuring the certainty of existing river water and power operations. The MSCP Steering Committee is composed of water and power users and Federal and State agencies participating in the development and implementation of the program. The Committee works with Bureau of Reclamation’s Program Manager to coordinate implementation of the program.
On August 8th, Assistant Director of the Water Planning Division Thomas Buschatzke, Ms. Benemelis, Mr. Gross, and Ms. Ikeya will attend a Colorado River System Simulation modeling workshop that the Bureau of Reclamation will conduct at Central Arizona Project. The purpose of the meeting is to provide current CRSS modeling program updates and an overview for new CAP modeling staff.
On August 9th, Mr. Buschatzke and Ms. Benemelis will attend a Colorado River Advisory Council meeting. The Council is comprised of Department, Central Arizona Project and other Colorado River water users and providers. The purpose of the meeting is to discuss the status of current Colorado River and CAP water use issues.
On August 10th, Ms. Benemelis and Ms. Ikeya will participate in a meeting with the Bureau of Reclamation and Yuma area irrigation district representatives to discuss hydrologic and salinity issues associated with the Bi-National negotiations and shortage sharing reductions. The meeting will focus on acquiring input from District Managers regarding the issues and concerns they may have with the developing process.
On August 15th, Ms. Benemelis and Ms. Ikeya will attend a Colorado River Basin States’ Steering Team meeting to continue discussions regarding the development of the Interim Report for the Colorado River Basin Water Supply and Demand Study. The purpose of the Study is to evaluate current and future Colorado River water supply and demand imbalances through 2060. The Basin Study Program will qualify the expected water supply shortfall for each of the Basin States and analyze response options including conservation, Colorado River operational changes and water supply augmentation.
On August 17th, and again on August 23rd and 24th, Ms. Benemelis and Ms. Ikeya will attend Bi-National Hydrology and Salinity sub-committee meetings. The discussion at these meetings will continue to focus on efforts to address hydrologic and salinity issues that are associated with shortage sharing reductions and for the development of Bi-National water conservation projects to extend Lower Basin Colorado River water supplies.
On August 25th, Ms. Benemelis will attend a Glen Canyon Dam Adaptive Management Workgroup (“AMWG”) meeting. Issues discussed and presentation topics will include administrative updates, changes to the AMWG charter, Grand Canyon Monitoring and Research Center updates, the recently released revised environmental assessments for the High Flow Experimental Protocol and Non-Native Fish Control, and the High Flow Synthesis Report.
On August 30th, Ms. Benemelis and Ms. Ikeya will attend the final consultation with the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation and Colorado River Basin States representatives regarding the continued development of the draft 2011 Annual Operating Plan (AOP) for the Colorado River system. Drafted on an annual basis, each plan reports on the past operations of the Colorado River reservoirs for the most recent, completed year and presents the projected operations and releases from these reservoirs for the upcoming year. All system operations must be conducted in a manner consistent with the Criteria for the Coordinated Long-Range Operation of the Colorado River Reservoirs.
Following the AOP meeting on August 30th, Ms. Benemelis and Ms. Ikeya will attend a U.S. Technical Sub-Committee meeting associated with the Bi-National negotiation process between the U.S. and Mexico. The meeting will focus on hydrologic and salinity issues that are associated with the agreement between the U.S. and Mexico to share shortage reductions and for the development of Bi-National water conservation projects to extend Lower Basin Colorado River water supplies.