VERDE RIVER AMONG AMERICA’S “MOST ENDANGERED”

Upper Verde #10 on American Rivers’ Annual List Released Today

Copies of the report, photos & supporting materials at http://www.AmericanRivers.org/MER2006PressRoom

WASHINGTON, april 19, 2006:– Increasing groundwater pumping to feed booming development poses a severe threat to the Verde River, threatening not only one of Arizona’s most popular rivers but also water supplies for downstream communities leading American Rivers to list Upper Verde today as America’s #10 most endangered river for 2006.

The annual America’s Most Endangered Rivers report highlights ten rivers facing a major turning point in the coming year, where action by citizens can make a huge difference for both community well-being and river health.

American Rivers and its partners on the Verde – the Grand Canyon Chapter of the Sierra Club and the Center for Biological Diversity – today called on the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to conduct a thorough review of the Big Chino Water Ranch Project and associated 30-mile water pipeline. In particular, the organizations urged the agencies to look not only at the impacts to species located on the lands that the pipeline will cross, but also the species that rely on the flows of the Verde River and its associated riparian areas.

“Arizona law might not recognize the reality that water pumped out of the ground can’t wind up in the river, but reality has a way of winning the argument in the end. If that happens, downstream communities like the tiny town of Perkinsville as well as the city of Phoenix that depend on good water in the Verde River will lose,” said Rebecca Wodder, president of American Rivers.

Municipal water use in central Arizona has increased by more than 39 percent over the last eight years. Demand for clean water will only increase as the population of major cities and towns within the Verde watershed continues to grow — the population is expected to more than double within the next 50 years.

In order to sustain their growing population, the City of Prescott and the Town of Prescott Valley propose to pump groundwater from the Big Chino sub-basin, which feeds the Verde River. The water would reach these towns via a proposed 30-mile pipeline, known as the Big Chino Water Ranch project, which would carry up to 12,400 acre-feet of water per year and create a huge drain on the aquifer and the Verde River.

A reduction in the volume of water in the Upper Verde would reduce the availability of clean water in downstream communities and farms in the Verde Valley and in Phoenix, diminish the recreational opportunities on the river, and threaten the health of many native fish and wildlife species.

“The Big Chino aquifer supplies more than 80 percent of the base flow of the Upper Verde River. In the coming years, the proposed pipeline could essentially dry up the first 24 miles of the river, and with it, crucial habitat for the American bald eagle and a number of native fish species that struggle throughout Arizona,” said Michelle Harrington, Rivers Program Director for the Center for Biological Diversity.

The organizations urged the U.S. Army Corps and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to complete a full Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) on Big Chino in 2006 that includes impacts on the Verde River. The report also urged the city of Prescott to fully implement its Reasonable Growth Initiative, adopted by local voters in 2005 in recognition of the area’s increasing demand for water.

“Water is the lifeblood of our communities and whether or not government wants to recognize it – at the local and state level – growth must be tied to adequate water supplies,” said Sandy Bahr, Conservation Director for the Sierra Club-Grand Canyon Chapter. “We need strong enforcement of the voter-approved Reasonable Growth Initiative in Prescott and for all of our communities to grow more responsibly.”

About America’s Most Endangered Rivers

Each year, American Rivers solicits nominations from thousands of river groups, environmental organizations, outdoor clubs, local governments, and taxpayer watchdogs for the America’s Most Endangered Rivers report. The report highlights the rivers facing the most uncertain futures rather than those suffering from the worst chronic problems. The report presents alternatives to proposals that would damage rivers, identifies those who make the crucial decisions, and points out opportunities for the public to take action on behalf of each listed river.

This year’s report details how nearly a century of federal flood damage reduction efforts poured tons of concrete and billions of dollars into massive engineering projects that too often destroy natural flood protection and lure communities into harm’s way. The rivers named in this year’s America’s Most Endangered Rivers report are: Pajaro River (Calif.), Upper Yellowstone River (Mont.), Willamette River (Ore.), Salmon Trout River (Mich.), Shenandoah River (Va. & W. Va.), Boise River (Idaho), Caloosahatchee River (Fla.), Bristol Bay (Alaska), San Jacinto River (Tex.), Verde River (Ariz.).

This page was last updated on 05/12/06.