Protecting Grand Canyon’s Seeps And Springs (Back to Water Program Index)

	Matkatamiba © by J. Sorensen/AGFD

What will become of the fragile seeps and springs, the ecological crown jewels, of Grand Canyon? While covering only a tenth of one percent of the canyon’s land area, riparian zones fed by the springs are crucial to the survival of diverse plant and animal life. Regional scientists and resource specialists confirm that these habitats hold the highest density of biological diversity anywhere in the canyon. Unfortunately, numerous wells south of Grand Canyon pump water from the aquifer that feeds these seeps and springs. The blue-green jewels of Grand Canyon must be protected, through the development of alternative water supplies and through legislation that protects springs from harmful groundwater pumping.

Two main obstacles exist. Communities south of Grand Canyon need water for municipal purposes and the only practical option available is groundwater from the aquifer that feeds the major springs in Grand Canyon. Other options such as surface water or transporting water from a distant water source either do not exist or are too expensive. The other obstacle is in law. Neither federal nor Arizona state law provides for protecting spring flows from impacting groundwater pumping. In fact, Arizona state law does not recognize legally the hydrologic reality of ground and surface water connection. Thus, no legal leverage exists to protect springs from groundwater pumping.

The Grand Canyon’s South Rim springs are fed largely by the Redwall-Muav aquifer, a sea of ancient water over 2,000 feet below the surface. Small springs, especially, are extremely sensitive to changes in aquifer equilibrium. Unfortunately, water levels in the aquifer are projected to decline due to deep-well groundwater pumping fueled by regional growth and park gateway development. Presently, seven wells south of Grand Canyon pump water from the aquifer at a collective rate totaling approximately 900 acre-feet per year. A recent paper by hydrologists Errol L. Montgomery & Associates, Inc., concluded that “groundwater pumping from the R-aquifer [the Redwall-Muav] . . . will eventually result in less discharge at the principal springs. . . along the South Rim of Grand Canyon.”

The Trust helped Grand Canyon National Park obtain funding that set up monitoring of several springs off the South Rim. These include: Hermit, Pumphouse, Cottonwood, Monument, Boucher, Pipe Creek, Burro, East Fork Grapevine Canyon, Santa Maria, Dripping, Royal Arch Creek, and Matkatamiba. We continue to advocate for their monitoring.

Water Demand/Water Conservation Study.
Water conservation will necessarily be a part of the solution that protects Grand Canyon’s seeps and springs and other important natural resources in the region. The Trust, working with Rocky Mountain Institute and Planning Management Consultants has recently completed a comprehensive water demand and conservation study for Coconino County. (230KB PDF) This study examines northern Arizona water conservation, and alternative supplies, including wastewater reclamation, graywater reuse, and rainwater harvesting.

The study concludes that proven water efficiency and conservation programs constitute a first source of water supply and therefore might help avoid costly new water supply projects. The study states that water conservation and conventional and alternative supplies must all be considered, "if a community or region is to develop the most cost-effective approach to meeting human and environmental water needs." Also, conservation technologies and alternative water supplies not only offer northern Arizonans a more economical solution to water needs, but also could help protect the fragile Grand Canyon seeps and springs from unnecessary groundwater pumping.

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