Increased Fees Enable ADWR to Rehire Some Staff

Some Arizona Department of Water Resources personnel laid off due to the ongoing budget crunch have been rehired, although their rehiring is not a sign that hard times are letting up for the agency. Last fall, six staff members who processed notices of intent to drill were let go. With the staff gone, the agency still had the statutory responsibility of responding to the about 4,000 to 6,000 requests per year to drill wells.

The agency was able to rehire staff members in the Notice of Intent section because the Legislature last year raised the notice of intent to drill fee from $10 to $150 within Active Management Areas. Fees in non-AMAs were raised to $100, to eventually reach $150 in two years.

Jim Holway, assistant director of ADWR’s water management division, says, “That money gave us a dedicated fund for the wells-related program that allowed us to rehire four staff members. ... We laid off six, and one retired and we hired back five. The sixth person had been previously rehired when a vacancy occurred.”

Holway explains the funding concept: “The idea is that the fee basically pays for the program. Many people hold the theory that this might be something the state should do a whole lot more of, that persons needing the service of permit programs pay for the program.”

The agency figures that the fees will initially bring in about $400,000 this year and up to possibly $500,000 when the higher non-AMA fees take effect. This will allow the agency two additional FTS in the NOI section.

The state’s Water Quality Assurance Revolving Fund also suffered staff cutbacks. Without the good fortune of a new funding stream, however, WQARF lacks the resources to rehire its laid off staff.

Holway warns that the agency remains in difficult budgetary straits. He says agency staffing is down to about 170 general fund employees, although it is authorized to approximately 200 minimum. Even considering the number of employees now on board the agency is underfunded by $1.8 million.

 

In that case, ship them CAP water “Spoon-feeding troops bottled water — a mistake. We want them to have mental toughness.” Gen. John Keane, U.S. Army’s vice chief of staff in response to U.S. soldiers being supplied with bottled water in Iraq. The troops consume 45 million 1.5-liter bottles per month.

Human Dishwashers’ Water Efficiency Studied

Water-wise consumers in search of an automatic dishwasher to purchase check the machine’s water efficiency rating. Researchers at the University of Bonn in Germany studied the water efficiency rating of human dishwashers; i.e. people who hand-washed dishes.

They began their study with the premise that automatic dishwashers use less water than when dishes are hand washed. They wanted to identify, however, variables affecting water use when hand washing dishes.

Seventy-five volunteers from seven European countries were recruited and assigned the task of washing dishes. Each volunteer washed a typical family load of 140 pots and plates coated with hardened egg, spinach and margarine. They found that handwashing used between about five and 86 gallons of water compared to the water consumption of a conventional European dishwasher that uses about four to five gallons of water.
(Americans were not included in the study, but the American Water Works Association web site provides information about hand washing dishes in this country. According to AWWA information an automatic dishwasher uses approximately nine to 12 gallons of water while hand washing dishes can use up to 20 gallons.)

The German study noted differences among nationalities in dish washing methodologies. Professor Rainer Stamminger, author of the study, states, “Whether it be a housewife or househusband, a Spaniard or a Turk, they all have different ways of doing the washing up.”

He noted that German and British handwashers did the job more economically than did their Spanish and Turkish counterparts, though the Spaniards ended up with the cleanest dishes. The Germans produced surprising results. Despite their reputation for cleanliness, their dishwashing performance was merely mediocre.

Stamminger’s tips for environmentally friendly hand dishwashing include prevent the food from hardening on plates, soak dishes prior to washing and use a main hot water bath followed by a cold wash rinse.

 

Fire, Drought Aid Recovery of Native Species Fire Likely Cause of Native Fish Increase Last year’s Rodeo-Chediski fire wrought havoc to a large forested area of the state but may have helped boost Arizona’s native fish population in a stretch of the Salt River. State biologists speculate that runoff from the fire area caused a population decline of a flathead catfish that preyed on native fish. The flathead catfish has been the bane of native fish in the area since their introduction into the Salt River in 1974. At that time, state biologists released 400 4-inch-long flathead hatchlings into the river at a point north of Roosevelt Lake as game fish for recreational fisherman. Native to the Mississippi River Basin, the catfish in their new environment became voracious feeders on fish native to Arizona, with the result that the catfish population multiplied while the native fish numbers in the area plummeted. These included the Sonora sucker, roundtail chub and other native fish. The catfish, which can grow over 4 feet, became stubborn residents of their new waters, able to withstand efforts to remove them to preserve the native fish. Biologists monitored their numbers. Numbers of a recent survey of 32 miles of the Salt River greatly surprised biologists when they found the flatheads almost gone. Expecting to find hundreds, they found only 35. The largest catfish measured only 20 inches, with no young fish to be found. In an effort to explain the drastic, albeit welcome decline of the catfish, biologists speculate that the ash and soil that the monsoon rains of last year washed from areas burned by the Rodeo-Chediski fire were the likely cause. The rains washed the sediment through tributaries into the Salt River which flowed black for while. The ash likely killed the catfish. This was contrary to expectations. Native to the Mississippi River, the flatheads were expected to survive muddy waters. Biologists are under no illusions the catfish are completely eradicated but expect that the native fish population will make significant gains before the catfish again reach population levels. Drought Benefits Sabino Canyon Frogs Whatever hardships or inconveniences were caused by the extended drought, Tucson’s Sabino Canyon native frog species have benefitted from the prolonged dry conditions. This is a finding of the authors of an upcoming book devoted to Sabino Canyon’s reptiles and amphibians. Phil Rose of the University of Arizona’s School of Renewable Natural Resources explains that pools serving as habitat for exotic critters such as bullfrogs, crayfish and green sunfish have dried up. With these invasive species gone, conditions were thus favorable for the return of the native frogs. Native frogs had previously been at a disadvantage. Invasive species are more aggressive when competing with native species for food and/or they prey on them. The result is the same: reduced numbers of native species. With the occurrence of extreme desert conditions such as prolonged drought or severe flooding, native species can hold their own against exotic species that generally prefer slow-moving perennial waters. Rose is collaborating on the Sabino Canyon book with naturalist David Lazaroff who has studied the amphibian and reptile species of the area for over 25 years.

AZ Rivers Must Get Interim Protection Says Court

The U.S. Forest Service acted illegally by refusing to consider adequate protection for 57 Arizona rivers a federal appeals court recently ruled. In its unanimous decision, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected government attorneys’ allegation that the law is met if an agency intends a future consideration of river protection when addressing forest plans and grazing permits.“

An intention to consider the rivers cannot satisfy a requirement that the agency actually have considered the rivers,” wrote Judge Wallace Tashima for the appellate court.

The significance of the case goes back to a request that the state’s congressional delegation made about ten years ago that the USFS prepare a report identifying Arizona streams or river segments eligible for inclusion under the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act. According to the 1968 law unique streams in free-flowing condition are to be preserved and their immediate environment protected “for the benefit and enjoyment of present and future generations.” USFS produced a report identifying 57 rivers.

About two years ago the Center for Biological Diversity filed suit arguing that the USFS had taken no actions since that time to protect the rivers listed in the report. USFS said it had no obligation to act. The court disagreed, saying that the agency by writing the report was then required to consider the rivers for legal protection.

A CBD spokesperson said the center filed the suit because designating a river for inclusion under the act is a lengthy congressional process, at times taking as long as ten years. Interim action therefore is needed to protect the rivers from potentially damaging projects such as dam and power line construction, excessive livestock grazing and logging.

The streams of concern include the Tonto and Pinto creeks in the Tonto National Forest, Oak and West Clear creeks in the Coconino National Forest and the Sabino, Grant and Sycamore creeks in the Coronado National Forest.

Of the 10,000 miles of rivers the act protects nationally only about 40 miles, consisting of a stretch of the Upper Verde River, are within Arizona.