Efforts to sustain Verde River get a boost with $1.2 million grant

When two conservation groups prepared a “report card” assessing the health of the Verde River watershed, they gave it a C-plus.

The groups will now receive $1.2 million to help boost that score, supporting their efforts to restore and protect the river.

The Nature Conservancy and Friends of the Verde River announced the grant from the Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust, saying the funds will be used for projects such as water-saving irrigation systems, a voluntary water “exchange” geared toward helping the Verde, and work to reduce the amount of sediment that flows off the landscape into the river.

The Verde River sustains a lush riparian corridor of cottonwoods and willows, an oasis that teems with birds and attracts people who paddle its currents and wade into its muddy shallows. The river also faces a range of pressures as water is diverted for farms growing crops such as alfalfa and corn, and as groundwater is pumped to supply growing communities in the Verde Valley.

“It’s pretty healthy overall. But we know that that’s at risk. As we think about climate change, and this is our second year in a row without monsoons, what does that mean for the river?” said Kim Schonek, Verde River program director for The Nature Conservancy. “We know that more people mean more groundwater pumping. And so, what are the things that we can do to mitigate for that?”

There are a number of ways to improve the watershed’s condition, Schonek said, and the funding will help the nonprofits move forward with those efforts.

“This allows for us to continue growing and developing and implementing projects,” Schonek said. “This funding lets us come to the table as a conservation organization and say, ‘Here are things that we can actively do together to make improvements.’”

The groups plan to use some of the funds to improve agricultural water efficiency by sealing canals and installing water-saving irrigation systems on farms. They’ve previously helped growers install sprinkler systems that use less water.

The nonprofits have also been working on community efforts to put greater focus on the watershed’s health and water conservation in decisions about land use planning.

As they’ve examined the watershed, the groups have cited soil erosion in upland areas as a problem. They plan to use the funds on projects that will fill eroded washes with rocks and other materials to slow runoff, reducing the amount of sediment that goes into the river.

The watershed “report card” (which is available at VerdeReportCard.org) was prepared by researchers working with The Nature Conservancy, Friends of the Verde River and the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science. When they released their report in February, the researchers cited upland habitat in much of the watershed as one of the areas that scored poorly, in part due to the erosion problems.

They wrote in the report the Verde, one of Arizona’s last surviving rivers, is “threatened by unrestricted groundwater pumping, surface water diversion, degraded habitats, and a changing climate.”

The Verde starts in the Chino Valley north of Prescott and flows for about 190 miles, filling reservoirs that supply drinking water for people across the Phoenix area.

Another area in which the watershed scored poorly was the river’s base flow. Data for the Verde’s driest periods in June show the flow has declined significantly over the past 30 years.

This summer, when the monsoon rains failed to materialize, the river dropped to some of its lowest levels on record.

The additional funding will help support the Verde River Exchange, a voluntary water offset program in which well owners can buy “credits” to continue pumping, while others — such as farmers or homeowners — temporarily reduce their use of surface water from the Verde or its tributaries.

The program, which began in 2016, had 10 buyers last year, said Max Wilson, manager of the sustaining flows program for Friends of the Verde River.

“I think what we’ve been really successful at is starting a conversation in the Verde about what responsible, sustainable growth looks like,” Wilson said. “And proving to folks that we don’t have to choose between a river that we all love and being able to put food on the table. There’s a way we can do both of these things.”

SPECIAL REPORT:Arizona's Next Water Crisis

Decades ago, water diversions and groundwater pumping dried up other rivers across Arizona, from the Santa Cruz in Tucson to long stretches of the Salt and the Gila Rivers around Phoenix, leaving parched riverbeds.

In southeastern Arizona, the San Pedro River has survived as one of the last free-flowing rivers in the Southwest. But like the Verde, many segments of the San Pedro have suffered long-term declines as pumping has pulled down groundwater levels.

Including the latest grant, the Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust has contributed $5 million to conservation efforts along the Verde River.

Carol Peden Schilling, chair of the trust, said in a statement that in arid Arizona, “the value of a natural water source cannot be overstated.”

“Stewardship over its sustained, healthy flow falls upon all of us,” she said.

Environmental coverage on azcentral.com and in The Arizona Republic is supported by a grant from the Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust. Follow The Republic environmental reporting team at environment.azcentral.com and @azcenvironment on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Reach reporter Ian James at ian.james@arizonarepublic.com or 602-444-8246. Follow him on Twitter: @ByIanJames

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