East Verde River Case Study

Along this journey created by nature, the river interacts with man’s influence to encapsulate the full geographic experience of this region. The succession of dams along the river’s path is a major contribution to how man has decided to mesh with the river. The dams have created reservoirs for water supplies, harnessed energy to provide electric power to the southwestern region, and controlled flooding. Flood control was the main concern at the time between the years 1905 and 1907 when large floods broke through the irrigation gates and destroyed crops in California. The flooding was so large it actually created a 450 square mile sea, named the Salton Sea. As a result of this major disaster, ideas were formulated to

Jr, R. H. (2014, April 28). Encylopedia Britannica. Retrieved from Rio Grand River, United States-Mexico: http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/504243/Rio-Grande

McDaniel, Chris. "Yuma Exhibit Fetes History of Yuma Siphon." DeseretNews.com. February 20, 2012. Accessed December

The Meramec Watershed has been threatened by multiple dam projects for the past two hundred years (East-West Gateway Council of Governments, 2007). However, through continued efforts by local land owners and interested parties, this river has never been dammed. In the Meramec’s more recent history, the Meramec Lake project was brought forth in the 1970s and successfully stopped in the early 1980s by grassroots efforts from local activists (East-West Gateway Council of Governments, 2007). In fact, the U.S Army Corps of Engineers were so confident the dam would get official approval, construction for the project began before the debate was over. Today, remnants of the initial construction can be seen in parks such as Meramec State Park and Meramec Spring Park, yielding to the natural ecosystems and geology that dominate the

Arizonans see California’s drought and water restrictions plastered all over the television and newspapers. Many Arizonans remain concerned about the well-being of Californians, while some may mistakenly think that it is not Arizona’s problem. I was one of those people, and while investigated the idea, discover how Arizona is in a bad situation because of it. What I, along with others, did not understand is the years of planning, legislation, and engineering that took place to get water to Arizona and the rest of the Southwest. The Southwest is an arid environment that relies on one river, the Colorado River, to deliver water to seven different

“The Grand Canyon is carven deep by the master hand; it is the gulf of silence, widened in the desert; it is all time inscribing the naked rock; it is the book of earth.” (Donald Culross Peattie).This quote by Donald Peattie sums up many Americans’ feelings toward the beauty of Arizona which is home to one of the natural wonders of the world, the Grand Canyon. The 1,450 mile-long, life-giving Colorado River runs through the Grand Canyon, and it supplies water to much of Arizona and its neighboring states. Tragically, this wonder could be destroyed by the lasting drought that is occurring which means residents and visitors would not experience much of Arizona’s allure. Perhaps even more frightening, if the drought continues for another decade,

East Turkey Creek is located in southeast Arizona in the Chiricahua Mountains along the New Mexico border. The Chiricahua Mountain Range is one of the largest Sky Islands in the Sky Island region of the United States with a total area greater than 140,000 ha and elevations ranging from approximately 1,100 to 2975 m. East Turkey Creek is located on the eastern side of the Chiricahua Mountain Range and flows northeast from its spring source in Rustler Park towards the town of Paradise, AZ before fully infiltrating. Stream flow near the source is perennial, whereas most of the stream is characterized by intermittency, usually drying up to remnant pools in late May or June. The flow itself is driven in part by spring source and in part by early spring snowmelt, with peak flows occurring in July and August during the monsoon season. The nearest climate station is in Paradise, AZ. The average minimum temperature is -4.2°C and occurs in January. The average maximum temperature is 31.2°C, occurring in June. Mean annual precipitation is 486 mm (Western Regional Climate Center, Period of Record Monthly Climate Summary, www.wrcc.dri-edu).

Government officials and groups such as the Arizona Department of Water Resources seem confident in the progress thus far to conserve and store for the future. Arizona is one of the few western states considered to have a well-divided government organization when it comes to managing the above and underground water resources. The Key persons and groups in Government on this situation along with their role in Arizona water are as follows:

There were many ways Yuma Arizona was changed by irrigation, without irrigation we wouldn't be able to grow crops, and sustain human life on earth. Back then Yuma was a small town, and was known as the wild west, but the era started ending when the U.S Reclamation service allowed Yuma to work on an irrigation project which was called the Yuma Project. The plan was to irrigate land throughout the towns of Yuma County,Somerton, and California. The water would come from the All American canal which then takes it to the Yuma main canal, then delivers it to the colorado river which then flows to different cities ,and irrigates land. Soon the project started changing Yuma in several ways with the new irrigation system Yuma started developing. One

The descriptions of the valley such as, “On clear days the outlook from Palomitas took in the flat glimmer of the marshes in which the river lost itself at the far end of Tierra Longa.”, surprised me that there were marsh lands here roughly 300 miles from Los Angeles. Furthermore, the references to “... its surplus waters made a glittering hieroglyphic....” and “In wet years, it went beyond these and reached the seas.” made me think that there was indeed much water in this area at the time. In fact, the wide

Hull was the first PERMANENT town on the Ottawa river. The settlers used this location in the St. Lawrence Lowlands to his BENEFIT as the lowlands are the most biodiverse region in Canada. Places in this area have good, fertile soil and lots of precipitation, which was a great advantage when setting up this agricultural settlement. Only a year later, in 1801, Columbia Falls farm was SET UP, heralding the beginning of a NEW CITY. The settlement, called Wright's Town quickly expanded to provide for themselves and avoid the cost that comes with shipping from Montréal. Lumber, hemp, and grist mills, a brewery/distillery, shoemakers, bakers, and a school are some of the buildings and services that were quickly

The first water to ever flow through the Yuma Siphon was released on June 29, 1912. The All American Canal was to serve the Yuma Project, the Palo Verde Irrigation District, the Imperial Irrigation District, and lands in the Imperial and Coachella valleys. In addition, 16,000 acres of mesa lands in the Palo Verde Irrigation District are entitled to 3.85 MAF annually with Priority 4 allocating 550,000 acre-feet annually to the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California. This was all decided and agreed on in the California Seven-Party Agreement of 1931.

According to the epidictic lens, Rowan Jacobsen reading, “Down by the River” is partially cusp therefore, makes it a bit good. However, this article does not contain any epidictic environmental advocates, which would have helped made the reading more cusp. Although, some great values of the Quechan tribe and the city of Yuma are mention due to the restoration of the Colorado River bank, which is good. For example it says, “On February 28, 2002, the Ocean-to-Ocean Bridge reopened in a spirited celebration. About 800 people turned out to watched the Quechan tribal president drive cross the bridge in antique cars, and the Quechan posted the ceremony on their side of the river”(p.94.) Here we can see that the Colorado River bank restoration

I’m pleased to announce Adelino Rivera has expanded his responsibilities and will now serve as site director for the Southeast/West region (SE/W).

Prior to settlement of the western United States, the Colorado River roamed free. Starting from cool mountain streams, the river eventually became a thunderous, silty force of nature as it entered the canyons along its path. The river nourished wetlands and other riparian habitats from the headwaters in the Rocky Mountains to the delta at the Sea of Cortez in Northwest Mexico. Settlers along the river harnessed these waters mainly for agriculture via irrigation canals, but flooding from spring runoff wreaked havoc on agricultural land, prevented development in the floodplain and full utilization of the water, a waste in the eyes of western farmers. In order to meet current and future water demands in the west, the Federal Government