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River Restoration projects gets water in rivers

KGUN 9

08/25/2019

TUCSON, Ariz. — On a hot summer day in the Old Pueblo, volunteers with the Watershed Management planted over 100 trees as part of the Shamrock Restoration Project.

KGUN 9's story on WMG's river restoration work with Pima County. "We had flowing rivers here 150 years ago, those are all gone now, we believe that we can get those back," River restoration biologist with Watershed Management Trevor Hare said. 

He said a big part of this project is to build water basins, which is a dug out area of the sand to help prevent flooding.

"Slowing the flows down, sinking the water into the ground instead of letting it just flash flood above ground all the way into Pinal county," Hare said.

Capturing the water also helps grow more native vegetation and bring wildlife to live in that area. 

This project is in partnership with the Pima County Regional Flood District.

"Well it use to be that the water would just rush through this little parking area and just flood right into the Rillito River," Hare said. "We are intercepting some of that water and sinking it into the ground to grow more native vegetation."

The next step for the volunteers is to wait for rain.

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