August 26, 2021

An Unnatural River

Treated effluent and recycled water flowing into the lower Santa Cruz River fosters abundant native vegetation and wildlife, and brings recreational and economic opportunities.
More like this story
Two wastewater treatment facilities in Tucson feed treated effluent to the Santa Cruz River fostering abundant native vegetation and wildlife along with new recreational and economic opportunities. One hundred percent of the water flow in the lower Santa Cruz comes from recycled water during non-rainy times. Researchers at the University of Arizona sought to discover how varied water use in the city impacted water flows and how those flows impacted the diversity of aquatic insects in the river. What they discovered revealed a great deal about the health of the river and the growing number of species who call it home.

To find out more about research projects being conducted at the University of Arizona’s School of Natural Resources and the Environment, visit snre.arizona.edu.

Producer/Editor: Mitch Riley
Videographer: Jordan Chin
Aerial Photography: Bryan Nelson, Michael McKisson
By posting comments, you agree to our
AZPM encourages comments, but comments that contain profanity, unrelated information, threats, libel, defamatory statements, obscenities, pornography or that violate the law are not allowed. Comments that promote commercial products or services are not allowed. Comments in violation of this policy will be removed. Continued posting of comments that violate this policy will result in the commenter being banned from the site.

By submitting your comments, you hereby give AZPM the right to post your comments and potentially use them in any other form of media operated by this institution.
AZPM is a service of the University of Arizona and our broadcast stations are licensed to the Arizona Board of Regents who hold the trademarks for Arizona Public Media and AZPM. We respectfully acknowledge the University of Arizona is on the land and territories of Indigenous peoples.
The University of Arizona