Managing SRP’s Water Resources through Drought and Uncertainty to Provide a Reliable Supply of Water
The Salt River Project (SRP) was created in the early 1900s to assure an adequate water supply for its shareholders in the Salt River Valley, Arizona. SRP’s success in managing its water resources for the benefit of its shareholders resides in a long history of vision, innovation, and strategic planning which has been a key ingredient for the Phoenix metropolitan area’s phenomenal growth. Today, SRP operates six dams and reservoirs on the Salt and Verde Rivers in central Arizona and one dam and reservoir on East Clear Creek in northern Arizona and approximately 270 groundwater wells within the SRP service territory to make deliveries for municipal, industrial, and agricultural uses. Nevertheless, the primary operational objective continues to be the conjunctive management of multiple sources of water to ensure an adequate carry-over supply of water for SRP’s shareholders in the Salt River Valley. SRP’s Project Reservoir Operations Plan (PROP) utilizes a storage planning diagram to manage SRP shareholder water to be resilient throughout the most extreme drought of record in the historical 1,000 year old tree ring record for the Salt and Verde watershed. Water resource planning has consciously adapted as our service territory has evolved over the past century in Arizona’s harsh and highly variable desert climate and understanding how a changing climate can impact water resources in Arizona will be a key component in SRP’s adaptation to an uncertain future.
Water Market Leader, Stanley Consultants Panel Discussion Facilitator
Senior Hydrologist, Surface Water Salt River Project
Stephen Flora is a Senior Hydrologist with Surface Water Resources at Salt River Project (SRP), a water and power utility serving much of the Phoenix metropolitan area. His responsibilities focus on watershed monitoring, streamflow forecasting, forest health activities, flood emergency reservoir operations, and drought preparedness planning in support of the sustainable management of Arizona’s water resources for SRP. Stephen also works to promote SRP’s watershed stewardship role through involvement in collaborative forest restoration projects and awareness efforts regarding the importance of a healthy forest to our water supply. Prior to working at SRP for the past 6 years, Stephen worked 10 years as a Hydrogeologist for environmental consulting firms and as a Hydrologist with the Arizona Department of Water Resources. During that time he worked on various projects related to well installation and testing, groundwater modeling, surface water monitoring, water quality sampling, and hydrologic field data collection and analysis. Stephen holds a Master of Science degree in Geology from Northern Arizona University, is a Registered Professional Geologist in Arizona, an alumnus of Scottsdale Leadership (Class 33), and has served as a board member of the Arizona Hydrological Society.
Canal Multiple Use – Recreational Use of the SRP Canal System
In 1964 the Bureau of Reclamation, Maricopa County supervisors and SRP signed an agreement that was the first of its kind in the nation. The agreement which was extended in 2015 allows for SRP to grant through license agreements, Valley municipalities and Maricopa County to develop recreation enhancements along the SRP managed canal system. Currently of the 131 miles of canals, the municipalities have worked with SRP to complete over 80 of those miles with recreational paths for Valley residents to bike, walk or run alongside. These ADA accessible path projects vary, but can consist of lighting, landscape, seating areas, signalized street crossings and commissioned public art. These projects create opportunities to showcase public art, highlight historic information and create connectivity and SRP continues to value the partnership with the municipalities for all to enjoy.
Canal Multiple Use Construction Consultant Salt River Project
Bryanna coordinates canal multiple use projects with the municipalities in SRP water service territory. She works with internal departments and external partners to develop new projects along the 131 miles of canals and continues to build relationships for maintaining the eighty plus miles of recreational paths that have been constructed. She took this positon in November of 2019 after six years of managing the water segment for Event Marketing. Within that role she worked with various water departments to implement unique opportunities for her water partners to reach their audience and helped accomplish their objectives. She has been with SRP for over fifteen years and currently sits on the Scottsdale Public Arts Board.
Climate Change and Salt-Verde Streamflow
Recent research suggests that average annual streamflow on the Salt and Verde Rivers is less sensitive to warming than streamflow in the Upper Colorado River Basin. The less snow dominated hydrology of the Salt-Verde Basin likely contributes to this difference, with streamflow generated when potential evapotranspiration is limited (e.g., over 70% of the annual streamflow occurs from December-April). Natural variability in winter precipitation, and therefore Salt-Verde streamflow, is large. The decreasing precipitation over the Southwest US in recent decades has been attributed to natural variability and the current long-term Salt-Verde Basin drought is the most severe in at least the last 645 years. There is a wide range in projected 21st century changes in winter precipitation over the Salt-Verde Basin, likely due in part to offsetting features in a simulated warmer world, more atmospheric water vapor and a poleward shifting storm track. Therefore, the Fourth National Climate Assessment reports that 21st century change in winter precipitation is expected to be small relative to natural variability. More clarity in the climate change impacts on winter precipitation over the Salt-Verde Basin is important for long-term planning in an uncertain future.
Staff Scientist/Meteorologist, Surface Water Salt River Project
Bohumil "Bo" Svoma is a Staff Scientist/Meteorologist in the Surface Water department at the Salt River Project (SRP). Dr. Svoma has published 29 peer-reviewed research articles in the fields of climatology/meteorology and his current research interests are focused on improving the predictability of Arizona precipitation and streamflow from sub-seasonal through decadal time scales. Dr. Svoma’s operational duties include watershed monitoring and weather forecasting, focusing on watershed precipitation in the winter and Phoenix area temperature and thunderstorm activity in the summer. Before joining SRP, Dr. Svoma was an Assistant Professor of Atmospheric Sciences at the University of Missouri from 2013-2017. He received his PhD in Geographical Sciences at Arizona State University in 2011 and BS degrees in Mathematics and Geographical Sciences from Arizona State University in 2007.
Changing Nature of Water Use Within the SRP Water Service Territory
The Salt River Valley Water User’s Association (SRVWUA) was formed in 1903 by farmers trying to ensure a reliable water supply for production agriculture here in the Valley. With SRVWUA’s formation and the completion of Salt River Project’s six major water supply dams on the Salt and Verde rivers, a reliable water supply has been used for agriculture, urban irrigation, and municipal shareholders. From the start, a vast majority of the acres in SRP’s water service territory were classified as agriculture, and the water supplied by SRP was used to irrigate crops. However, in 1985 the amount of acres classified as municipal overtook both agriculture and urban irrigation. Today, a majority of water delivered by SRP is to municipal shareholders where it is treated by city treatment plants for domestic use. This presentation will explore the transition of SRP’s service territory to municipal use and how this transition has impacted operations, demand, and water supply planning into the future.
Andrew Volkmer is a Senior Hydrologist with Surface Water at Salt River Project (SRP), a water and power utility serving much of the Phoenix metropolitan area. His responsibilities focus on watershed monitoring, streamflow forecasting, flood emergency reservoir operations, and water supply planning. Prior to working at SRP, Andrew worked four years as a drainage engineer for a civil engineering consulting firm. During that time he worked on various projects related to stormwater infrastructure design, hydrologic and hydraulic modeling, and drainage studies. Andrew holds a Master of Science degree in Agricultural Engineering from the University of Nebraska, is a Registered Professional Civil Engineer in Arizona, and an alumnus of Scottsdale Leadership (Class 34).