Surface Flow, Sediment Transport and Water Quality Connections in the Lower Santa Cruz River, Arizona
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Surface Flow, Sediment Transport and Water Quality Connections in the Lower Santa Cruz River, Arizona Thomas Meixner, Associate Professor of Hydrology and Water Resources, University of Arizona Eylon Shamir, Research Hydrologist, Hydrologic Research Center, San Diego Jennifer Duan, Assistant Professor of Civil Engineering, University of Arizona Report Prepared for U.S. EPA Region IX October 2009 1 Executive Summary The nature of hydrologic connections and their impact on water quality conditions in rivers is of ecological, hydrologic and biogeochemical importance. In this report, the nature of hydrologic connections and water quality impacts between the Upper Santa Cruz River basin, the Lower Santa Cruz River, and the Gila River are investigated. First a discussion of the important processes active in arid and semi-arid rivers is provided, emphasizing the nature of sediment and particulate transport and the opportunity for the channel network to provide an ecosystem service in the way of contaminant and nutrient removal. Following this, an analysis is conducted of the historical nature of hydrologic connections within the Lower Santa Cruz River system. The result of this analysis shows that existing infrastructure and actions of decision-making organizations recognize that the Upper and Lower Santa Cruz rivers are hydrologically connected. Next the nature of this hydrologic connection between the USGS gages at Cortaro and Laveen is analyzed through specific events, hydrologic response, and statistically. This analysis shows that large flows at Cortaro take approximately two days to propagate through the Santa Cruz River channel to Laveen. The statistical analysis shows that large flows at Cortaro lead to the largest flows observed during the period of record at Laveen and that these hydrologic connections of import occur approximately on an annual to bi-annual basis. An analysis of sediment budgets for the Gila River demonstrates that approximately 13 percent of the sediment observed in the Gila River originates from the Lower Santa Cruz. This 13 percent of the sediment is dependent upon flows with a return interval of 1-2 years or longer. These flows are most dependent on hydrologic connections between the Upper and Lower Santa Cruz as shown in the statistical analysis. Additionally the episodic nature of these flows means that these floods are the ones most likely to contain significant organic carbon and suspended sediment loads. As a result, these episodic connections are the conditions most likely to transport significant quantities of nutrients and organic contaminants that are associated with suspended sediments. Finally, the multi-step nature of the hydrologic and water quality connection in the Lower Santa Cruz is described and advice is offered on how studies in other arid and semi-arid river systems can be conducted. 2 (This page left intentionally blank.) 3 Contents Executive Summary ...................................................................................................................................... 1 Figures ................................................................................................................................................... 5 Tables .................................................................................................................................................... 7 1 Introduction ........................................................................................................................................... 9 2 Study Site and History ........................................................................................................................ 11 2.1 Site Description ....................................................................................................................... 11 2.2 Historical Information Regarding Connectedness of Upper and Lower Santa Cruz River .... 13 3 Hydrology and Water Quality of Semi-Arid Rivers ........................................................................... 17 3.1 Hydrologic Framework ........................................................................................................... 17 3.2 Movement of Substances from Uplands to Perennial Waters: Reaction, Fate, and Transport 19 3.3 Instream Network Processing of Dissolved and Sediment – Attached Nutrients .................. 21 3.4 Effluent and Agricultural Influences and Interactions with Riparian Systems ....................... 24 3.5 Sediment Processing and Influence on Water Quality ............................................................ 25 3.6 Integration of Water Quality Influences ................................................................................. 26 4 Surface Flow Connectivity in the Lower Santa Cruz River Basin ...................................................... 27 4.1 Available Hydrometeorological Datasets ............................................................................... 27 4.1.1 USGS Data ...................................................................................................................... 28 4.1.2 NOAA – National Climatic Data Center ........................................................................ 29 4.1.3 AZMET –UA .................................................................................................................. 29 4.1.4 Pima and Maricopa Counties .......................................................................................... 29 4.2 Analysis of Selected Storms ................................................................................................... 29 4.2.1 Flood of October 1983 – Tropical Storm ........................................................................ 29 4.2.2 Flood of July 2006 Convective Storm ............................................................................ 31 4 4.2.3 Flood of January 1993..................................................................................................... 34 4.2.4 Flood of October 2000 .................................................................................................... 35 4.2.5 Flood of July-August 2007 ............................................................................................. 36 4.2.6 Synthesis of Individual Storm Analyses ......................................................................... 37 4.3 Statistical Analyses of Hydrologic Connectivity .................................................................... 37 4.3.1 Analysis of Cross-correlation .......................................................................................... 38 4.3.2 Analysis of Conditional Probabilities ............................................................................. 42 4.3.3 Data Analysis .................................................................................................................. 42 4.3.4 Results ............................................................................................................................. 44 4.4 Conclusions Regarding Surface Flow Connectivity ............................................................... 48 5. Sediment Transport Connections between the Santa Cruz and Gila Rivers .................................. 49 5.1. Daily Sediment Load at Cortaro and Laveen Gages ............................................................... 49 5.2. Daily Sediment Load in the Gila near Maricopa Road Gage and near Estrella Parkway Gage 53 5.3. Balance of Sediment Load at the Confluence of the Santa Cruz and Gila Rivers .................. 54 5.4 Annual Sediment Load ............................................................................................................ 57 5.5 Deposition and Erosion within the Confluence Reach ........................................................... 58 5.6 Summary and Conclusions Regarding Sediment Transport Connections .............................. 60 6 Water Quality Implications of Connections between Upper and Lower Santa Cruz River and the Gila River .................................................................................................................................................... 63 6.1 Relative Sediment Sources to the Gila – Role of the Santa Cruz ........................................... 64 6.2 Causes of Flows Responsible for Sediment Export at Laveen................................................ 64 6.3 Likely Variation in Sediment Quality as Function of Event Type and Size ........................... 66 7 Conclusions ......................................................................................................................................... 67 8 Guidance for Investigating Hydrologic Connectivity in Arid and Semi-arid Systems ....................... 69 References Cited ......................................................................................................................................... 71 5 Figures Figure 1. Regional Map of Santa Cruz River Basin ............................................................................... 12 Figure 2. Map of Santa Cruz River System from FEMA Report to Pinal County, 1990 ....................... 14 Figure 3. Three Hydrographs Representing (a) Typical Humid Catchment, (b) Typical Semi-arid Catchment, and (c) Typical Snowmelt Driven System (adapted from Hornberger et al. 1998) .................................................................................... 18 Figure 4. Pattern of Total Dissolved Nitrogen against Catchment Area at Walnut Gulch