Groundwater study results revealed at ARENA meeting

SNOWFLAKE - Groundwater vulnerability in the Snowflake-Concho area will be discussed at an ARENA public meeting scheduled for Tuesday, April 26, from 6-8 p.m. at the Northland Pioneer College, learning center, room 101 in Snowflake.

Kristine Uhlman will present preliminary results of a study of the age and chemical characteristics of water in the C aquifer in the Snowflake-Concho area. Uhlman is NEMO Program Director at the Water Resources Research Center at the University of Arizona.

Uhlman's team at the University of Arizona sampled five wells, including the municipal water supply wells for Snowflake and St. Johns. They did tests to determine how old the water is and how much recent recharge has occurred. They also looked at hardness, salinity, nitrates, and arsenic.

The purpose of the study is to determine the vulnerability of the water supply to climate effects such as drought, in order to begin to identify water management policies that will be effective here.

Their tentative findings indicate that the water is thousands of years old. The Coconino aquifer was likely recharged during the cold, wet climate thousands of years ago.

Dr. Laura Huntoon will talk about different strategies communities can use to address water management. Huntoon, PhD, works for the School of Landscape Architecture and Planning at the University of Arizona. A Member of American Institute of Certified Planners, she specializes in community decision-making and pathways to social influence.

Dr. Huntoon would like to learn from meeting attendees about current water challenges and about what water policies make sense for the long-term.