Title
Authorization to Enter into an Intergovernmental Agreement between the City of Phoenix and U.S. Geological Survey to Create a Water Budget for Tres Rios Ecosystem Restoration Project (Ordinance S-49850)
Description
Request to authorize the City Manager, or his designee, to enter into an Intergovernmental Agreement with the U.S. Geological Survey to create an ecosystem water budget for Tres Rios, a joint City of Phoenix and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers project. Further request to authorize the City Controller to disburse all funds related to this item. The City of Phoenix cost under this agreement will not exceed $200,000.
Report
Summary
The City of Phoenix is the local sponsor for the Tres Rios Flood Control and Environmental Restoration project, a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Civil Works project. Tres Rios is located in the Salt and Gila rivers and adjacent river bank from 83rd Avenue to approximately the confluence with the Agua Fria River. The ecosystem restoration phases of Tres Rios include the flow regulating wetlands, overbank wetlands, mesquite bosque, and the Salt and Gila rivers. The flow regulating wetlands are part of the wastewater treatment process, polishing the processed effluent to Clean Water Act standards before being discharged to the Salt River. All phases of the project are supported by these daily effluent discharges. The City has obligations, under our Project Cooperation Agreement with the USACE and under our Safe Harbor Agreement with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, to establish and maintain native vegetation communities and to operate, maintain, repair, replace and rehabilitate the Tres Rios project, including the ecosystem restoration components.
As the Water Services Department evaluates the approach and use of advanced water treatment, an understanding of the water use, by ecosystem restoration, components of Tres Rios is a critical information need. Understanding the city's obligations under existing agreements will help inform the planning for future advanced water treatment. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is a scientific leader in collecting and analyzing data related to surface water and groundwater, and the USGS has performed similar ecosystem water budget studies in other river systems in Arizona. The USGS is familiar with the Tres Rios area; they are currently conducting a water seepage study so the City can better understand the surface and groundwater dynamics in the river system at Tres Rios. This ongoing effort will provide key baseline information to build on for the proposed water budget study. Specific work will include evaluating existing ecosystem vegetation, vegetation/habitat obligations under our federal agreements, incorporating surface water and groundwater dynamics, understanding vegetative water demands, undertaking data modeling, and similar tasks to develop a water budget for Tres Rios. The City of Phoenix will provide no more than $200,000 to complete this work on behalf of the City.
Contract Term
The agreement would be for a two-year term beginning on or around June 20, 2023, with three one-year options to extend.
Financial Impact
The aggregate value shall not exceed $200,000 without further Council approval. The funds would only be expended for USGS to create an ecosystem water budget for Tres Rios. Funding is available in the Water Services Department's Capital Improvement Program budget and the Office of Environmental Programs' Operating budget.
Location
Tres Rios
Council District: 7
Department
Responsible Department
This item is submitted by Deputy City Managers Alan Stephenson and Ginger Spencer and the Office of Environmental Programs and the Water Services Department.