Reviving a desert river: benefits, challenges, and opportunities of a multi-stakeholder effort to restore flow in the Santa Cruz River

Authors: Michael Bogan

Year: 2021

Abstract

During the 20th century, many desert rivers were dewatered by surface diversions and groundwater pumping. Several large desert cities developed along these dewatered riverbeds, including Phoenix, Las Vegas, and Tucson, USA. Flow has since returned to some urban portions of these rivers thanks to the discharge of treated wastewater (effluent). However, this effluent generally had poor water quality, and planners rarely considered ecological or societal concerns when deciding where to release effluent. The Santa Cruz River Heritage Project, created by the city of Tucson’s municipal water agency, is an innovative project to release high-quality effluent into a historically dewatered reach in the city’s urban core. Although the initial goal of the project was groundwater recharge, it has resulted in myriad ecological and societal benefits, including an impressively diverse odonate fauna, increased bird diversity, and numerous recreational opportunities. The project itself has received wide community support beyond what its initial stakeholders had predicted. However, challenges have included flood control concerns and how to resolve issues among diverse groups and agencies. Here, we provide an overview of the project’s ecological and society benefits and lessons learned about public communication and collaborative planning.