2007-05-17 Pumping will harm the Upper Verde River

At an April 2007 Prescott City Council meeting discussing the pipeline to import water from the Big Chino, I [column author John Zambrano] cited a U.S. Geological Survey report by Kyle Blasch and others (USGS Scientific Investigations Report 2005-5198) as a sound basis to conclude that importing water will reduce flow in the Upper Verde River. [Zambrano discusses two earlier studies and concludes this column, "The data are available; the sources are authoritative and unbiased. It is past time for the municipalities to accept that importation of groundwater from the Big Chino will affect the Upper Verde River and plan to mitigate before pumping begins."]