By Diane Saunders, Staff Writer
A study of the underground aquifer will let Graham County residents know how much water is underground and what the water quality is.
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No start date of the study has been set.
It is unknown if there is one or multiple aquifers under Graham County. The study should reveal that information. In addition to water quantity and quality, the study is expected to show the depth of the groundwater, Howe said.
The study will likely include the use of monitoring wells, which will be key components, and historical data about the Gila Valley and the geology of the area.
“It’s certainly not going to be put a hole in the ground and guess,” Howe said.
The study will be paid for by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, U.S. Geological Survey and the Arizona Department of Water Resources and is expected to take five to seven years, Howe said. The USGS will do the study.
The available funding for the study will be $100,000 to $130,000 a year and will come from BOR, USGS and ADWR, Howe said.
Jan Holder, program coordinator of the Gila Watershed Partnership, said most of Graham and southern Greenlee counties, except for parts in the national forest or the San Carlos Apache Reservation, will be studied.
“Right now, we’re putting together a contractual agreement between all of the entities,” Holder said.
Comments
2 comment(s)Mike Wikoff wrote on Feb 20, 2008 2:03 PM:
Now let's see if we can get the "Jaguar" reintroduced too.I'm a zoology graduate from No.Arizona U. presently living in Oregon. "
paige wrote on Jan 4, 2008 7:46 PM:
i have to watch him struggle to keep cool in the summer it breaks my heart to watch him hes 11 he should be outside running around like a 11 year old boy does "