Although Arizona is experiencing one of its worst droughts on record, floodwaters in the Cañada del Oro Wash recently ran at 7,000 cubic feet per second, or four times the level of the last big flood, in 1993. In the last two years, horrendous fires have devastated almost 200 square miles in the Catalina Mountains, from which Bonito Canyon and Cañada del Oro descend. The vegetation that normally slows the rainwater in its descent from the mountains has been burned away. Floods will threaten many homes in this area for years to come.

Normal flash floods are dangerous enough, but after fires of this magnitude, they also carry tons of topsoil, ash, and charred wood, giving the water the appearance of an oil slick. Devoid of oxygen, this sludgy water can suffocate aquatic species. When post-fire floods this past summer threatened the endangered Gila chub, a fish native to Sabino Creek, the chub were moved to holding facilities until the danger passed. But the floods also played a positive role in the creek, which flows from high atop fire-ravaged Mt. Lemmon. They killed many non-native green sunfish, which prey upon the Gila chub, and the ashy deposits they left behind are providing rich nutrients for riparian plants.

But far more often in the desert, there is too little water. And sometimes that leads to tragedy. More than 300 illegal immigrants, funneled into the desert by tighter Border Patrol measures in the larger border cities, have perished in this region during the last two years. Humanitarian groups stock scattered water stations, but people trudging for hours and days in arid temperatures reaching 110 degrees or more don’t last long without gallons of water.

In Tucson’s pioneer days, a daily bath was considered a waste of good water. Today, we’re more than wasteful. In a region that receives only twelve inches of water annually in nondrought years, we slurp up this precious resource like there’s no tomorrow. At one time, the region’s top user was agriculture (cotton, wheat, barley, alfalfa, vegetables, and nuts), but with a Pima County population approaching one million and showing no sign of slowing down, home use has taken over that distinction. Industry, including mining, uses a large amount. We also lavish nearly four billion gallons annually on lawns and several dozen golf courses--only some of which use reclaimed water.

Already, formerly vital rivers have dried up, fertile riparian habitats supporting wildlife and lush vegetation have disappeared, and parts of Tucson have begun to subside as the soil compacts over a falling water table.

BACK TO ARCHIVES