Resident urges Cochise County supervisors to act after San Pedro River monitoring well goes dry

Allison Morris, speaking during the Sept. 16 Cochise County Flood Control District meeting at the Board of Supervisors hearing room in Bisbee, told supervisors a court-ordered monitoring well protecting federal water rights for the San Pedro River registered as "D" (dry) and urged the board to take all lawful measures to protect the river.

Morris said the San Pedro is "the last free flowing river in Arizona" and noted the San Pedro National Riparian Conservation Area was created by Congress about 37 years ago. She cited reports in the Sierra Vista Herald, the Arizona Republic and the Arizona Daily Star and said U.S. Geological Survey data show the water table under Fort Huachuca is dropping, diminishing base flow in the river.

Morris said the June 30 groundwater-monitoring reading showed a value of "D," meaning the water table dropped below the depth of that monitoring well, and that two other monitoring wells within about a mile of Fort Huachuca are showing declining water levels and are "in violation of the court ordered threshold." She also stated that Fort Huachuca has been the largest user of water from the San Pedro River, with an estimated 400,000 acre-feet of withdrawal since 1940.

"Continual over pumping and years of inaction are sucking this priceless river dry," Morris said. "These violations of the [fort's] federally reserved water rights amount to nothing less than a theft of water from the San Pedro River. The time to act is now." She concluded by urging the board to ensure "all lawful measures are taken to preserve and protect this national ecological treasure and outstanding local natural resource."