HomeResourcesCWAG ReportsCWAG BULLETINS

A collection of CWAG informational bulletins written for the general public.

CWAG BULLETINS Files

Download

Arsenic in Arizona's Water Supply

To reduce the risk of cancer from this chronic exposure to arsenic, the EPA changed the allowable limit for drinking water from 50 ppb to 10 ppb in January of 2006. This is projected to reduce the risk of cancer and other illnesses from arsenic by around 80%. The exact benefit cannot be defined because other sources of arsenic such as food or air are contributors to the health risk.  View document.

Download

2012-04-16 The Case for a Water Management District

What are water districts? They are regional governmental authorities established by state legislation. Each district has its own set of rules – as agreed upon locally, not in Phoenix. Its governing board would be democratically determined probably by local election or appointing the county Board of Supervisors as the district board. State legislation may be written in a way that the district could only be established by an election of the district's voters. View document.

Download

2012-04-16 Safe Yield

What is SAFE YIELD?  Why is it important? How do we achieve it? In Arizona, safe yield refers to a long-term balance between the water that is naturally and artificially recharged to an aquifer and the groundwater that is pumped out. When more water is removed than is recharged, the aquifer is described as being out of safe yield. When the water level in the aquifer then drops, we are said to be mining groundwater. View a pdf.

Download

2012-04-16 The Importance of Conservation

Where we use water is a key to conservation. Water used outside the home, most typically for watering vegetation, is lost to the atmosphere. Water used in the home can be returned to the aquifer. This is performed efficiently in municipalities that have central collection, treatment and recharge facilities. It is done less efficiently in communities that use septic tanks with leach fields. While conservation of all uses is valuable, the greatest benefits will come from outdoor uses. View document.

Download

2012-04-16 The Big Chino Pipeline: Fact versus Fiction

The City of Prescott and Town of Prescott Valley continue with plans to construct a pipeline that would transport from 8,000 to 11,500 acre-feet of water per year from the Big Chino Sub-basin of the Verde River Watershed into the Prescott Active Management Area. To garner support for their project, the municipalities and other proponents have made a number of unsupportable claims. The following are some of these claims and the facts you need to know. View document.

Download

Six Water Supply Issues in the Upper Verde River Watershed

A short summary of six critical issues in the upper Verde River Watershed.  View document.

Download

2012-04-11 The Endangered Upper Verde River, Tables and References

Bulletin Number 6A is a companion to this bulletin and presents a narrative description of a threat to the River from the likely exportation of Water from the Big Chino sub-basin to the Prescott Active Management Area (PAMA) and from development within the Big Chino itself. This Bulletin, 6B, presents similar information, but in a tabular form including references. The reader is encouraged to read Bulletin 6A for a fuller understanding of the issue. View document.

Download

The Endangered Upper Verde River

In 2006, American Rivers designated the Verde River as one of the nation’s ten most endangered rivers. The endangered portion is the upper 24-mile stretch from the River’s confluence with Granite Creek to Perkinsville. View document.

Download

Arsenic in Arizona’s Water Supply

Frequently Asked Questions about arsenic in drinking water. A CWAG bulletin. View Document. 

DAILY DROPLET

  • "Ranchers need clean water for their stock, farmers need it for their crops, every employer needs it to stay in business, and every living thing needs it for life... The law needs to be clear to protect water quality and the rights of landowners."
    Mark Udall

  • "Water is the driver of Nature."
    Leonardo da Vinci

  • "When the well is dry, we know the worth of water."
    Benjamin Franklin, Poor Richard’s Almanac, 1746

  • "...and since flow of information is to spirit what water is to life, we'd best think about how to keep the pipes free and unclogged."
    Raphie Frank

  • "In an age when man has forgotten his origins and is blind even to his most essential needs for survival, water along with other resources has become the victim of his indifference."
    Rachel Carson

  • "We forget that the water cycle and the life cycle are one."
    Jacques Yves Cousteau

  • "Water is life's matter and matrix, mother and medium. There is no life without water."
    Albert Szent-Gyorgyi, 1937 Nobel Prize for Medicine

  • "Water is everywhere and in all living things; we cannot be separated from water. No water, no life. Period..."
    Robert Fulghum

  • "It's the water. Everything is driven by the water."
    Mike Thompson

  • "Whiskey is for drinking; water is for fighting over."
    Mark Twain