2010 Summary from Pima County

Pima County’s Local Drought Impact Group (LDIG) consists of water providers and local, state and federal agencies. LDIG meets bimonthly to monitor drought conditions, discuss drought impacts and coordinate drought declarations and responses. During 2010, LDIG meetings included presentations on the winter and summer seasons from the National Weather Service, an overview of the U.S. Drought Monitor from the Climate Assessment for the Southwest, Tucson Water’s annual drought assessment and a status report on the Colorado River and reservoir levels at Lake Mead and Lake Powell from the Central Arizona Water Conservation District.

Status of Drought

In 2010 drought conditions eased somewhat in Pima County. January was the 8th wettest month on record, while February was the 11th wettest. Winter temperatures were cooler. However, the summer monsoon season was the 2nd warmest on record. Rainfall was above average; 4.75 inches compared with the average 4.61 inches. Also notable was the average low temperature which was 74.7º F or 3.4º F higher indicating nighttime temperatures were warmer this summer. The summer monsoon precipitation was variable throughout Pima County with some areas in eastern Pima County receiving as much as 8 inches of precipitation while some areas in western Pima County received less than an inch of rainfall.
At the beginning of 2010, the short-term drought status in Pima County ranged from severe drought to moderate drought, while the long-term drought status was moderate, except in the far western portion of Pima County that was abnormally dry. As the year comes to a close, the short-term drought status is improved; abnormally dry in western Pima County and no drought conditions throughout the rest of Pima County. However, the long-term drought status shows moderate drought in eastern Pima County, abnormally dry in central Pima County and normal in western Pima County.
Although drought conditions have eased somewhat, the consensus of the Pima County LDIG is that it will take several years of above average precipitation for the long term drought status to improve and LDIG recommends Pima County remain at Drought Stage One.

Drought Impacts

The impacts of sustained drought were observed in several sectors throughout Pima County:
• At Cienega Creek, groundwater levels in three wells have dropped as much in the last year as they have in the last 15 years. Stream reaches are also shorter and the surface water volume is lower.
• Despite the warm, wetter summer weather patterns in eastern Pima County, water utilities continue to see a change in the peak high demand day. Usually occurring in mid- to late-June, the peak high water use day occurred in August and the peak was lower than in previous years.
• For ranchers, impacts to stock ponds and grasses continue to indicate drought conditions.

Drought Indicators

In 2010, ADWR began using the U.S Drought Monitor instead of the monthly ADWR Drought Monitor Report (DMR). The U.S Drought Monitor is a web-based reporting system and is now used because:
• It provides more timely information
• In some cases, drought conditions can change rapidly
• The ADWR DMR was reporting conditions that were at least one month old
• The US Drought Monitor has better and more timely input
• The US Drought Monitor is a more sustainable process in light of the ADWR budget cuts
LDIG is now using the US Drought Monitor to monitor drought conditions in Pima County.

Drought-Related Actions

During the year, the City of Tucson and Pima County completed Phase 2 of a water/wastewater infrastructure study. Phase 2 establishes a framework for sustainable water resources planning through the implementation of 19 goals and 56 recommendations. Phase 1 was completed in 2009 and consisted of an infrastructure inventory. With respect to drought, the Phase 2 report recommends the City and County pursue adaptive, flexible, multi-pronged preparedness strategies, including diversification of water supplies and improved demand management, such as increased reliance on water harvesting. To track and measure the plan’s progress, an action plan implementing the goals and recommendation of Phase 2 is being completed. More information can be obtained at http://www.tucsonpimawaterstudy.com

In 2010, the City of Tucson published its Annual Drought Monitoring Report that recommended continuation of the Stage 1 Drought Response. The report is available at http://www.pima.gov/drought/PDFs/2010_Drought_Rpt.pdf

On June 1, 2010, the City of Tucson began implementing a rainwater-harvesting ordinance that requires new commercial properties to provide a minimum 50 percent of their landscaping water budget from harvested rainwater. Also on June 1, the City of Tucson began requiring all new one- and two-family dwellings to have gray water stub-outs for laundry drains. New single-family dwellings will be required to have separate drain lines for lavatories, showers and bathtubs to allow for future installation of distributed gray water systems.

Should drought conditions persist and curtailments of CAP water be declared, water providers have several response strategies in place. The first and second CAP curtailment levels will not affect deliveries to municipal water providers. However, drought response plans are in place and more restrictive drought response measures can be taken if a shortage is declared. The Arizona Water Bank Authority has stored unused CAP allocations at recharge facilities in the Tucson Active Management Area on behalf of Tucson Water and other CAP subcontractors in the region. This water can be recovered during shortage periods. Potential climate change impacts on water resources are also being assessed in a 26-member climate change committee being led by the City of Tucson.

Each of the water providers has prepared a drought response plan on file with ADWR. As of September 2010, the status of regional drought declarations remains unchanged from 2009. The status of drought declarations is:

Regional Drought Declarations

See Pima County LDIG webpage for additional information.