‘Zero flow’ recorded at key spot on Arizona’s drying San Pedro River
Where water normally flows continuously on the San Pedro River east of Sierra Vista, only ponds and puddles persisted last week. … The Charleston gauge, long considered a key indicator of the San Pedro’s health, dried up late last month for the first time in 21 years. And it stayed dry — or nearly dry — until water from a monsoon storm arrived Friday morning. It was the latest blow to a river whose lush riparian groves and very high bird populations have long made it a global treasure in the eyes of many ecologists. But the river’s declining flows and the lowering of neighboring groundwater wells over the years have also made it a political and legal battleground pitting environmentalists wanting to limit the area’s growth and groundwater pumping and government officials who seek to keep the river flowing without curbing economic development.
Other drought news:
- The Arizona Republic (Phoenix): Arizona’s San Pedro River runs dry for the second time in 122 years
- FOX13 (Salt Lake City): Utah is lowering water levels in this reservoir in the middle of a drought
- Pinal Central: Pinal added as drought disaster area
- AZ Free News: Arizona extends Pinal groundwater fee relief, irrigation project funding through 2030
- NBC7 (Denver, Colo.): Severe drought forces tough decisions for pumpkin growers in Northern Colorado
- EurekAlert: Researchers targeting drought-tolerance traits in crops
- Arizona Daily Star (Tucson): Opinion: Technology is changing the game: Why Arizona’s golf-water debate needs a reset
