Pima County Local Drought Impact Group

Next Meeting: March 10, 2010 at 2:30 p.m.

Public Works Building
201 N Stone Ave
3rd Floor Conference Room-County Side

Public is welcome

November 4 meeting recap

September 9 meeting recap

July 8 meeting recap

May 13 meeting recap

March 11 meeting recap

January 14 meeting recap

For more Pima County information visit their web page: Pima_County_Drought_Management_web_page

 

2008 Summary from Pima County

During the year, the Pima County Local Drought Impact Group (LDIG) met regularly to monitor local drought conditions, conduct regional coordination on drought declaration and to begin establishing a drought impact reporting system.

Status of drought - Drought conditions in Pima County persist. Although winter rains were generous, there was no indication the drought has subsided. Summer rains were also plentiful; however, intensity varied throughout Pima County. The long term drought status ranges from abnormally dry to severe drought. For most of eastern Pima County the long term drought status is moderate.

Impacts of drought - The impacts of the sustained drought can be seen in several sectors. One irrigation company observed that groundwater wells had to be turned on earlier in the season. Low valley areas did not receive as much precipitation as higher elevations. Stream gauges near the Sabino/Pantano area indicated drought conditions. This year’s storms tended to be fast-moving, resulting in shorter duration rainfall events with smaller stream flows.

Drought-Related Actions - Water providers in Pima County have drought response plans in place and have declared drought stage levels. As of September 2008, the following is the status of regional drought declarations:

Entity

Drought Declaration

Pima County

Stage One Alert

City of Tucson

Stage One

Town of Oro Valley

Stage One

Town of Marana

Stage One Alert

Metropolitan DWID

Stage One Alert

Community Water of Green Valley

Stage One Alert

The response action for these declarations is voluntary water reductions. Increased public awareness was promoted through summer conservation programs, education materials and community activities. Pima County LDIG is also implementing a drought reporting system using AZ DroughtWatch to report on observed drought impacts on various sectors. This information will be used to supplement data used by the Statewide Monitoring Technical Committee and to assess the regional drought status. Participation from the Tohono O’odham Nation has been most welcome and valuable. The Pima County LDIG could benefit from increased communication with and participation from stakeholders in Western Pima County and rural interests.