Thank you to the River Run Network Members who wrote in on the One Water 2100 Plan and made restoring rivers and shallow groundwater areas one of the top issues in the public comment period. This caught the attention of long-time environmental reporter, Tony Davis. This article by Davis features WMG's perspective on the plan and what's missing: New Tucson plans lack measures to bring back vanished river flows, critics say.
The One Water 2100 plan was approved by the Mayor and Council on October 17th. One of five guiding principles in the plan calls on the community to “enhance quality of life by preserving and restoring riparian areas, increasing urban tree canopy and supporting economic growth;” however, the plan was approved without any concrete actions to achieve preserving and restoring riparian areas.
We are thrilled to see the City of Tucson embrace a One Water approach and excel in areas like water harvesting and green infrastructure. We call on the City to continue innovating and shift to a City that values our rivers and their ecosystem function and puts watershed health front and center.
Next, Tucson Water will be creating the implementation plan to achieve what is outlined in One Water 2100. If you want to see actions for our rivers, reach out to the Mayor and Council to let them know you’d like to see concrete steps in the One Water 2100 implementation plan to restore river flow, recharge shallow groundwater areas, protect the floodplain, and expand riparian forests. We at Watershed Management Group will continue to be vocal and speak up for the health of our watershed and rivers. Thank you for being part of the River Run Network, taking personal actions and advocating to restore our rivers and advocate for watershed health.
