ADEQ Director Steve Owens Awards $32,000 Water Quality Improvement Grant to Pinetop-Lakeside to Reduce Pollution in Rainbow Lake

Arizona Department of Environmental Quality Director Steve Owens today announced that the department has awarded a $32,000 water quality improvement grant to the Town of Pinetop-Lake to help reduce pollution in Rainbow Lake.

Rainbow Lake is a 125-acre man-made lake on Walnut Creek, located off Highway 260 in Pinetop-Lakeside in the Silver Creek sub-watershed of the Little Colorado watershed. The Lake is overgrown with algae fed by soil containing animal waste and fertilizer that has been running off from surrounding lands. The town will plant buffer strips of vegetation to help prevent runoff from reaching the lake. The Show Low Creek Watershed Enhancement Partnership, a local watershed group, will serve as project manager for the effort.

"Rainbow Lake is a point of pride for the Pinetop-Lakeside community - and for White Mountain residents in general," Director Owens said. "Families throughout the White Mountains rely on the Lake for fishing, boating and other recreational activities. We are committed to working with the Town of Pinetop-Lakeside, the Show Low Creek Watershed Enhancement Partnership and concerned citizens to stop the runoff into the Lake and improve the water quality in it."

Owens added that ADEQ also is working with the Town of Pinetop-Lakeside to develop longer-term strategies for improving conditions in Rainbow Lake.

The grant is funded with federal dollars provided to ADEQ under the Clean Water Act.

ADEQ Director Owens Awards $54,978 Grant for Water Quality Improvement Project at Lakeside Lake in Tucson

Arizona Department of Environmental Quality Director Steve Owens today announced that the department has awarded a $54,978 grant to fund water quality improvement in Pima County.

The grant, to the City of Tucson's Parks and Recreation Department, will improve fishing and other recreation at the city's Lakeside Lake, located at Lakeside Park in Tucson. The lake was originally built as a stormwater retention basin, then converted for recreational fishing in 1985. It receives water from stormwater runoff, groundwater and reclaimed water from the Roger Road Wastewater Treatment Plant. An ADEQ water quality study completed in 2005 showed the lake has excessive levels of ammonia; high levels of phosphorus, a nutrient that causes algae growth; and low dissolved oxygen levels due to algae growth.

Under the grant, the city will improve water quality in the lake by reducing drainage from surrounding park lands into the lake, providing bait disposal locations for people who fish, and occasionally treating the lake with alum, a chemical that will help reduce algae growth. The city will also remove debris from the lake and surrounding park.

"These funds will help protect water quality in Lakeside Lake," Owens said. "We are pleased to support this important local effort."

The grant is funded with federal dollars provided to ADEQ under the Clean Water Act

ADEQ Director Steve Owens Awards $345,100 in Grants for Water Quality Improvement Projects in Greenlee County

PHOENIX (June 22, 2007) -- Arizona Department of Environmental Quality Director Steve Owens today announced that the department has awarded $345,100 in grants to improve water quality in Greenlee County.

The Valley Canal Company of Duncan will receive a $250,000 grant to rebuild segments of the disintegrating 42-year-old Valley Canal, located along the Gila River. The canal, which was constructed in 1965, is no longer strong enough to contain the water flowing through it without breaking, causing concentrated flows that pick up sediment and carry it to the river. Additionally, sediment from banks above the canal becomes trapped in it. Damage to the canal accounts for the erosion of 270,000 tons of soil annually, 70 percent of which reaches the river.

"This project is an extremely important step for protecting the local watershed," Director Owens said. "Replacement of the canal is absolutely essential to reverse the erosion that has been occurring and reduce the amount of sediment that reaches the Gila River."

ADEQ also is awarding a grant for $95,100 to the Coronado Resource Conservation and Development Council (CRCDC), a nonprofit organization that assists local communities to improve their use of natural resources. Owens said that the CRCDC will use the funding to prevent erosion on 161,172 acres of grazing land located within the Eagle Creek Watershed and primarily leased from the U.S. Forest Service. The CRCDC will work with local ranchers to install 5.5 miles of fences on the Double Circles Ranch, located near Morenci, as part of a rotational grazing system that will prevent soil runoff into Eagle Creek.

The grant to the CRCDC is for Phase II of a project begun in 2006. Last year ADEQ awarded a grant for $360,930 to the Upper Eagle Creek Watershed Association for a variety of actions to prevent run-off into Eagle Creek, including fencing, alternative grazing practices and alternative water sources for livestock.

"Protecting Eagle Creek is a very high priority," Owens said. "This is a great partnership among ranchers, concerned citizens and local officials, and we are pleased to support this important effort."

The grant is funded with federal dollars provided to ADEQ under the Clean Water Act.

ADEQ Director Steve Owens Awards $582,253 in Grants to Help Protect the Watson Woods Riparian Preserve and Granite Creek in Yavapai County

Arizona Department of Environmental Quality Director Steve Owens today announced that the department has awarded two grants totaling $582,253 to the Prescott Creeks Preservation Association to fund water quality improvement projects to help protect the Watson Woods Riparian Preserve and Granite Creek near Prescott in Yavapai County.

"The Watson Woods Riparian Preserve is an extraordinary place, and Granite Creek is one of the most important water resources in our state," Director Owens said. "We are very pleased to support the great work being done to protect these critically important areas."

The Association is receiving a $483,191 grant to protect the Watson Woods Riparian Preserve, a cottonwood/red willow forest area located along Granite Creek. The 126-acre preserve is all that remains of an area that once was a 1,000-acre stretch of unbroken forest. The Association will plant vegetation, create wetlands and stabilize channels to reduce erosion and redirect and filter stormwater runoff into Granite Creek, which flows into the preserve. The Association will also implement best management practices for protecting the riparian area from pollution, as well as conduct community outreach and public education.

The association also is receiving an additional grant for $99,062 for the second phase of the Granite Creek Watershed Water Quality Improvement and Monitoring Program, a series of improvements being made downstream from Granite Creek to restore the stability of the Creek stream channel. The Association received $217,982 from ADEQ in 2006 for phase one of the Program to construct a stormwater runoff basin, develop best management practices for ranching and activities along the riparian area, monitor the creek for metals and bacteria and label storm drains with stenciling to keep the public from dumping waste in the drains and contaminating the creek. The improvements will benefit both Granite Creek and Watson Lake, both of which are impaired for excess nutrients and low dissolved oxygen, due to sediments from runoff and other sources.

The grants are funded with federal dollars provided to ADEQ under the Clean Water Act.