The Town of Camp Verde is working with the Nature Conservancy to help recharge the local aquifer while working on drainage projects.
“This allows us to see the possibilities that are out there,” Camp Verde Town Manager Russ Martin said.
The town has been talking with the group for around a year, Martin said.
“We’re testing different ways to see how we can allow rivers to continue to flow,” said David Gann, Arizona Rivers Program Director with the Nature Conservancy.
“Flowing rivers are important to Camp Verde, it’s important to economic development and it’s important to quality of life,” Gann said.
The memorandum of understanding signed between the town and the conservancy will allow the group to look at projects the town takes on and see where there might be opportunities to return water to the watershed.
“We in the Town of Camp Verde have roughly 18 miles of river, so they have a real personal ownership,” Vice Mayor Jackie Baker said.
Gann said that the conservancy wasn’t taking charge of anything beyond looking at flooding issues and seeing how water could be returned to the watershed.
A groundwater model, released a few years ago by the U.S. Geological Survey after a five-year effort and thousands of dollars, explored how aquifers connect with each other in Northern and Central Arizona. The effort was intended to help communities better manage the region’s water supply, always a valuable commodity in Arizona.
To read the full story, see the Wednesday, May 13, edition of The Camp Verde Journal.
