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Arizona Water Science Center

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Verde River below Tangle Creek, above Horseshoe Dam

Photo by Bert Duet

DATA CENTER

Arizona Weather Radar

ABOUT THE Arizona WSC

USGS IN YOUR STATE

USGS Water Science Centers are located in each state.

There is a USGS Water Science Center office in each State. Washington Oregon California Idaho Nevada Montana Wyoming Utah Colorado Arizona New Mexico North Dakota South Dakota Nebraska Kansas Oklahoma Texas Minnesota Iowa Missouri Arkansas Louisiana Wisconsin Illinois Mississippi Michigan Indiana Ohio Kentucky Tennessee Alabama Pennsylvania West Virginia Georgia Florida Caribbean Alaska Hawaii New York Vermont New Hampshire Maine Massachusetts South Carolina North Carolina Rhode Island Virginia Connecticut New Jersey Maryland-Delaware-D.C.

Water Resources of Arizona

Welcome to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Web page for the water resources of Arizona; this is your direct link to all kinds of water-resource information. Here you'll find information on Arizona's rivers and streams. You'll also find information about ground water, water quality, and many other topics.


Two USGS-ADWR Rural Watershed Studies, one focused on the middle San Pedro River area, and one examining the Detrital, Hualapai, and Sacramento Basins in northwest Arizona, while expected to continue in fiscal year 2010, are discontinued for fiscal year 2011 and beyond in current state budget proposals. Each of these studies is developing critical hydrologic knowledge necessary for understanding water resources and for future development of computer modeling tools.



Photo of the Month

Monkey Cove Spring
Photo by Margot Truini
(May 12, 2009)

Don Bills works through the sand and mud on the shores of Lake Mead to measure the discharge of Monkey Cove Spring with a flume. The spring is located just to the west of Temple Bar and at normal lake elevations this large spring is under the waters of the lake. However, owing to the dry climate in the southwest for the last several years, dropping lake levels in Lake Mead have exposed the spring beginning in about 2002. Collecting information on the flow, water chemistry, and discharge source of this spring and others like it helps to develop a better understanding of these important spring resources before they are again covered by the lake.

Arizona Water Science Center Portals

Real-Time Streamflow Data Portal


Real-Time Streamflow Data Portal
Access real-time streamflow data using an interactive map!




Hydrologic Conditions

Drought Conditions for Selected Basins


The USGS, in cooperation with the Governor's Drought Task Force, has developed a series of maps showing drought intensity for selected drainage basins in Arizona. To view historical maps, learn how the maps are developed, and download images, visit our drought page. Drought conditions for
October 2009

Icon for map of drought conditions for October 2009
Click to view larger image

Historic Hydrologic Events in Arizona

Arizona Ground-Water Conditions Interactive Map

Arizona Water Science Center Highlights

Movie icon

Video showing Simulated Zones of Capture of Surface Water by Groundwater Pumping, upper part of the San Pedro Basin

USGS Hydrologists Stan Leake, Don Pool, and Jim Leenhouts used a groundwater flow model of the upper part of the San Pedro Basin in Arizona to produce capture maps (Scientific Investigations Report 2008-5207) to help managers understand the possible timing of effects groundwater pumping in the lower basin fill has on streams, springs, and evapotranspiration by riparian plants. Maps in the report for pumping times of 10 years and 50 years show patterns that reflect the fraction of pumping that is simulated to be a reduction of water available to the riparian system. For example, on the map for a withdrawal time of 10 years, a capture-fraction zone of 0.5-0.6 shows areas where capture or depletion of surface water and evapotranspiration will be 50-60 percent of the well pumping rate at that time. The accompanying video takes the analysis one step further by showing how some of these simulated capture zones evolve over a 100-year period of pumping. In this example, capture zones in ranges of 0.5-0.6, 0.6-0.7, 0.7-0.8, 0.8-0.9, and 0.9-1.0 are shown.

Movie icon

Video of Yuma Field Office staff demonstrating acoustic technology to members of Arizona Floodplain Managers Association on November 7, 2008

The USGS Yuma Field Office, which is headed by Hugh Darling, has a young and enthusiastic staff implementing new technology to improve the precision of data collected. The staff has embraced hydroacoustics using both Acoustic Doppler Velocity Meters (ADVM) and Acoustic Doppler Current Profilers (ADCP). Nearly 100 percent of stream flow measurements made by the Yuma Field Office staff are made with acoustic instruments while using current meters as quality assurance. One of the most critical roles the Yuma Field office plays is the quantification of flow in the Colorado River, its tributaries, and diversions. This video shows the Yuma Field Office staff demonstrating acoustic technology to members of Arizona Floodplain Managers Association on November 7, 2008.

Movie icon

Video of Havasu Canyon after August 17th high-flow event

The video describes observations made by AzWSC scientists on the recent high-flow event that occurred around August 17th, in Havasu Canyon on the Havasupai Indian Reservation, northern Arizona. The Havasupai Indian Tribe lives in the remote Havasu Canyon, a tributary canyon to Grand Canyon National Park, and is only accessible by foot, horseback, or helicopter. The high-flow event caused massive erosion below the village of Supai, resulting in the creation of new water falls and the cessation of Navajo Falls. AzWSC scientists made assessments of the high-flow event on August 28th and 29th, and made an indirect measurement of the peak flow that passed through the village of Supai. A preliminary calculation of the peak flow is 6,000 cubic feet per second. (August 29, 2008 — narrated by Greg Fisk and Steve Wiele)

Recent Publications

Scientific Investigations Report 2009-5195 New iconScientific Investigations Report 2009-5195
Sediment Transport in the Bill Williams River and Turbidity in Lake Havasu During and Following Two High Releases from Alamo Dam, Arizona, in 2005 and 2006
by Stephen M. Wiele, Robert J. Hart, Hugh L. Darling, and Andrew B. Hautzinger
Open-File Report 2009-1196 Open-File Report 2009-1196
Results of the Analyses for 1,4-Dioxane of Groundwater Samples Collected in the Tucson Airport Remediation Project Area, South—Central Arizona, 2006–2009
by Fred D Tillman
Open-File Report 2009-1148 Open-File Report 2009-1148
Groundwater, Surface-Water, and Water-Chemistry Data, Black Mesa Area, Northeastern Arizona—2007–2008
by Jamie P. Macy
Techniques and Methods 4-F1 Techniques and Methods 4-F1
Excel® Spreadsheet Tools for Analyzing Groundwater Level Records and Displaying Information in ArcMap™
by Fred D Tillman
Fact Sheet 2009-3015 Fact Sheet 2009-3015
Southwest Principal Aquifers Regional Ground-Water Quality Assessment
by D.W. Anning, S.A. Thiros, L.M. Bexfield, T.S. McKinney, and J.M. Green
Scientific Investigations Report 2008-5209 Scientific Investigations Report 2008-5209
Methods and Indicators for Assessment of Regional Ground-Water Conditions in the Southwestern United States
by Fred D Tillman, Stanley A. Leake, Marilyn E. Flynn, Jeffrey T. Cordova, Kurt T. Schonauer, and Jesse E. Dickinson
Open-File Report 2008-1324 Open-File Report 2008-1324
Ground-Water, Surface-Water, and Water-Chemistry Data, Black Mesa Area, Northeastern Arizona—2006–07
by Margot Truini and J.P. Macy
Scientific Investigations Report 2008-5207 Scientific Investigations Report 2008-5207
Simulated Effects of Ground-Water Withdrawals and Artificial Recharge on Discharge to Streams, Springs, and Riparian Vegetation in the Sierra Vista Subwatershed of the Upper San Pedro Basin, Southeastern Arizona
by Stanley A. Leake, Donald R. Pool, and James M. Leenhouts
Scientific Investigations Report 2008-5189 Scientific Investigations Report 2008-5189
Use of Superposition Models to Simulate Possible Depletion of Colorado River Water by Ground-Water Withdrawal
by Stanley A. Leake, William Greer, Dennis Watt, and Paul Weghorst
Fact Sheet 2008-3076 Fact Sheet 2008-3076
Dissolved Solids in Basin-Fill Aquifers and Streams in the Southwestern United States—Executive Summary
by David W. Anning
Scientific Investigations Report 2007-5275 Scientific Investigations Report 2007-5275
Ground-Water Storage Change and Land Subsidence in Tucson Basin and Avra Valley, Southeastern Arizona, 1998–2002
by Donald R. Pool and Mark T. Anderson
Open-File Report 2008-1273 Open-File Report 2008-1273
Hydrologic Data from the Study of Acidic Contamination in the Miami Wash—Pinal Creek Area, Arizona, Water Years 1997–2004
by A.D. Konieczki, J.G. Brown, and J.T.C. Parker
Scientific Investigations Report 2008-5113 Scientific Investigations Report 2008-5113
Update of the Accounting Surface Along the Lower Colorado River
by Stephen M. Wiele, Stanley A. Leake, Sandra J. Owen-Joyce, and Emmet H. McGuire
Open-File Report 2008-1098 Open-File Report 2008-1098
Bathymetric Survey and Storage Capacity of Upper Lake Mary near Flagstaff, Arizona
by N. J. Hornewer and M. E. Flynn



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Page Last Modified: Thursday, 19-Nov-2009 18:57:35 EST