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USEPA Santa Cruz River Public Survey Research
Citation:
Weber, M. USEPA Santa Cruz River Public Survey Research. U.S. EPA Office of Research and Development, Washington, DC, 2014.
Impact/Purpose:
This product summarizes human subjects survey research being conducted on residents of the Phoenix and Tucson metropolitan areas. The information will appear on the Region 9 website on the tab dedicated to the Santa Cruz River, to describe the public value research that is being conducted by the USEPA. The results of the survey will provide information to managers about the recreational and ecological value the effluent-dominated reaches of the Santa Cruz River represent to the public
Description:
The USEPA Office of Research and Development, Western Ecology Division is investigating how urban households value different possibilities for the Santa Cruz River in southern Arizona. A random sample of households in the Phoenix and Tucson areas are being asked to provide their point of view on the Santa Cruz River management possibilities. Two lengths of wastewater-dependent river are considered in the survey: a “South” length starting at a treated wastewater outfall in Rio Rico, AZ and flowing northward through Tumacácori National Historical Park; and a “North” length, fed by two treated wastewater outfalls in northwest Tucson, AZ and flowing northwest through Marana, AZ. For both the South and North lengths of the Santa Cruz River, two different scenarios of change are considered. The first is a reduction in flow length, and associated decreases in cottonwood-willow riparian forest, a rare forest type in the region. The second is an increase in water quality to allow full contact recreation, such as submersion, at normal flow levels. The baseline flow length and forest acreages, as well as the acreages of forest that would be associated with reduced flow lengths, are derived from natural science research conducted at the University of Arizona and Arizona State University. Text as well as photos are used to describe what impacts treated wastewater have on the ecosystem. An important finding from focus group research conducted in developing the survey was that few people were aware of these areas of treated wastewater flow in the river.