Funding of $254,000 will allow 21 agencies and organizations to continue work in Southeastern Arizona
WASHINGTON – U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords voted with a majority in the House for $254,000 in funding for the Upper San Pedro Partnership.
The funding was approved Wednesday as part of the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration and Related Agencies Appropriations Act of 2010. The bill passed in a 263-to-162 vote and now goes to the Senate.
“The San Pedro River is one of the last major undammed waterways in the American Southwest and one of the most diverse ecosystems in North America,” Giffords said. “It is essential that we find innovative ways to preserve this ecosystem while also providing needed water to a growing area of Southeastern Arizona.”
The funds for the Upper San Pedro Partnership will be made available through the federal Agricultural Research Service to continue scientific support of the partnership. Giffords was successful in making the Upper San Pedro Partnership a permanent project in the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration and Related Agencies Appropriations bill for future fiscal years.
The Upper San Pedro Partnership, formed in 1998, is a public-private initiative formed to protect the river. The consortium of 21 agencies and organizations works to help meet the water needs of area residents while protecting the San Pedro Riparian National Conservation Area.
The San Pedro River flows north from its headwaters in Mexico, requiring the partnership to also work across the border. Achieving a sustainable yield of the Upper San Pedro aquifer is essential for the future of the city of Sierra Vista, the U.S. Army’s Fort Huachuca and the San Pedro River.
Susan Bronson, administrator of the partnership, praised approval of the funding, which she said will be used to continue hydrological work in the Sierra Vista area.
“This will ultimately result in the sustainable yield of the regional aquifer,” Bronson said. “The sustainable management of the Sierra Vista Subwatershed is particularly important because the long-term viability of two national treasures – the San Pedro Riparian National Conservation Area and Fort Huachuca – depend upon it.”
There are rising concerns that, without augmentation of local water supplies, the San Pedro River may run dry due to sustained drought and overpumping of local aquifers.