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Tres Rios del Norte Environmental Restoration

Study status:  Awaiting USACOE’s completion of the Draft Feasibility Study and Draft Environmental Impact Statement 

The purpose of the Tres Rios del Norte Environmental Restoration Feasibility Study is to determine the feasibility of providing habitat restoration along an 18 mile stretch of the Santa Cruz River from Prince Road to Sanders Road. The study is a cooperative effort between the Pima County Regional Flood Control District, the City of Tucson, the Town of Marana and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

This study is in the process of analyzing the potential to restore and enhance native vegetation and riparian habitat within the Santa Cruz River’s channel, its overbank areas, and on some of the major tributaries. Additional elements that are being considered include recreational improvements, cultural resource preservation, groundwater recharge, and flood damage reduction.

Study Progress

An array of alternatives describing different levels of restoration was prepared and evaluated by the local jurisdictions. Several of these alternatives are being reformulated to better conform to current conditions and economic realities. This plan reformulation, to better assess changes to both land and water availability for the project, is continuing. Additionally several new alternatives are being drafted including an alternative that reflects the possibility that all of the effluent currently discharged into the Santa Cruz River will be diverted from the channel for municipal water needs. Once the reformulation of alternatives is complete, they will pass through a series of screenings, including a cost-benefit analysis, which will result in a final array of “best buy” alternatives. These best buy alternatives, along with the detailed technical analyses of how everything was evaluated and the recommended plan will be presented in the Draft Feasibility Report and its companion Draft Environmental Impact Statement.

Reports

The following reports and brochures are available:

  • Fall 2005 - Tres Rios del Norte Feasibility Study Newsletter

Meetings

The Town of Marana, in cooperation with Pima County, the City of Tucson and the US Army Corps of Engineers, will host future public meetings to discuss Tres Rios del Norte.

Contacts

Jennifer Christelman

Town of Marana Office of Environmental Engineering
11555 W. Civic Center Drive
Marana, AZ 85653
(520) 382-2655
jchristelman@marana.com

Ann Audrey

City of Tucson Office of Conservation and Sustainable Development
201 N. Stone Avenue
P.O. Box 27210
Tucson, AZ 85726-7210
(520) 837-6932
ann.audrey@tucsonaz.gov

Thomas Helfrich

Pima County Regional Flood Control District
97 E. Congress Street
Tucson, AZ 85701
(520) 724-4600
tom.helfrich@rfcd.pima.gov

Scott Estergard

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Los Angeles District
Arizona - Nevada Area Office
3636 N. Central Avenue, Ste. 900
Phoenix, AZ 85012-1939
(602) 640-2003, x242
Scott.k.Estergard@sp101.usace.army.mil