Invitation Letter--June 9, Flagstaff meeting Date: Fri, 15 May 1998 15:05:30 -0500 To: kdgarcia@centurion.flash.net From: "Robert M. Hirsch, Chief Hydrologist, USGS" (by way of Jan Arneson) Subject: Invitation Letter--June 9, Flagstaff meeting Cc: mschaefer@ios.doi.gov, "Melcher, Nick B" , "Bohlen, Steven R" , "Ward, A. Wesley Jr." , "Robert M Hirsch, Chief Hydrologist, Reston, VA " (Hard copy to follow by surface mail.) In Reply Refer To: Mail Stop 409 May 15, 1998 Ms. Dawn Garcia, Arizona Section American Institute of Professional Geologists 8261 East Placita del Oso Tucson, Arizona 85750-2928 Dear Ms. Garcia: This letter is in response to our meeting in Arlington, Virginia, on May 4, 1998, and your hand-delivered letter from the American Institute of Professional Geologists (AIPG). Your letter also was addressed to Steve Bohlen and Mark Schaefer and I am responding on their behalf as well. As I mentioned at our meeting, we take seriously the concerns expressed by AIPG regarding competition, or the appearance thereof, between the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the private sector. We consider the private sector, especially consulting geologists and engineers, to be a key clientele for USGS data, information, and technology. Any perception that our work is in competition with consultants gives us reason to reexamine our work to ensure that it complies with our mission. Since our discussion on May 4, 1998, additional information was gathered from my colleagues in the USGS to help us gain more insight into this issue that we would like to share with you now. In addition, this letter presents our plans on how we will proceed from here to address your concerns. The concerns described in your letter are, with one exception (which I will address below), confined to a specific part of the State of Arizona. In particular, they are on or near the southern rim of the Colorado Plateau where development and population growth is rapid. In this part of the State, the regional ground-water flow system is not well understood, yet increasingly being developed to meet the growing demand for municipal water. Based on our dealings with communities in this area and the Arizona Department of Water Resources (ADWR), it is clear that there is a lack of basic information regarding regional flow paths, fracture flow, perched water tables and even depths to water in this region. With this information, we believe it will be easier and more efficient for communities and consultants to direct their efforts to secure future water supplies. For these reasons, we believe it is an appropriate role for the USGS to participate in defining these features of the regional hydrogeology to provide a basis for more localized planning studies needed by these communities, the State, and Federal interests such as the National Parks. Furthermore, because of the limited hydrologic data describing this area, we believe that our application of new and developing technologies, such as square-array resistivity, ground-penetrating radar, isotope geochemistry, and remote sensing could be of great value in revealing the flow system and identifying potential water-producing zones. We will be documenting the use of these techniques in journal articles to be published over the course of the next few years. The studies we have undertaken in cooperation with the cities of Flagstaff and Williams follow this general purpose. Potential future studies around other communities mentioned in your letter--Payson, Strawberry, and Pine also follow this general purpose and we are in discussions with these communities, Gila County, and ADWR, to help fill in more of the regional hydrogeologic framework of this growing but water-short area. Your letter also mentions Sedona but we have no active or proposed projects in this community. Information from these regional studies can be used by city officials to identify opportunities for water development. It would be our expectation that the analysis of the optimal well site and the well design would be performed using consultant expertise. Given the concerns that you have expressed on behalf of AIPG, an informational meeting has been scheduled for June 9, from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. at the USGS office in Flagstaff. I will attend and chair this meeting. The agenda will include USGS scientists presenting the major findings of their work on existing projects in the area and describing the interdependence of these projects. We will also review potential ground-water studies that are in the developmental stages. The agenda will also provide time for you or others from AIPG to present your concerns about USGS work. We feel it is only fair that we invite representatives of the affected communities, Gila County, and ADWR to allow them an opportunity to express their concerns and needs for information. We feel that such an exchange would be very healthy and will provide us with a much better basis on which to make decisions as to whether we go forward with future plans in this area or modify them based on the input that we get at the meeting. These discussions will also help us better understand these competition and communication issues so that we can avoid conflict, or the appearance of conflict, in other parts of Arizona and the entire Nation. We hope that you can attend this session and that other AIPG members who have concerns can be present. We think that this is an ideal opportunity for us to transfer our new information and techniques to consultants, the State, and the communities. It also provides an opportunity for us to hear directly from your members as to their concerns. We appreciated the presentation of Mr. William Greenslade, AIPG Arizona Section, at our September 17, 1997, USGS planning meeting. These kinds of interactions between the consulting community and the USGS are quite useful, and we look forward to holding more of them in the future. We would appreciate your help in ensuring that the consulting community is informed of our June 9 meeting plans. If you having mailing lists or specific invitations to suggest, please give that information to Nick Melcher of our Tucson office. However, you should feel free to invite individuals on your own behalf. Also, if there are members of the consulting community who are unable to attend or need to present information in a confidential manner, please tell them that I can accept their input prior to the meeting and can be sent by mail, fax, or e-mail (rhirsch@usgs.gov). One final point, as mentioned above, your letter refers to our work in southern Arizona of quantifying ground-water storage change and recharge rates in the Tucson basin. I am very familiar with that work and believe it is highly innovative. It is paving the way towards a technology, using repeat micro-gravity surveys, to estimate changes in ground-water storage as the result of long-term pumping, artificial recharge or large hydrologic events. I do not feel that it is necessary to discuss this work at the June 9 meeting. However, the USGS would be pleased to provide a technical presentation on our gravity work at a future meeting involving State and local interests and AIPG in southern Arizona. I'll look forward to meeting with you and others in an effort to resolve this important matter. Sincerely yours, /signed/ Robert M. Hirsch Chief Hydrologist Copy to: Mark Schaefer, DOI Nick Melcher, USGS, Tucson Steve Bohlen, USGS, Reston Wes Ward, USGS, Flagstaff Steve Testa, National President, AIPG Bill Greenslade, Arizona Section President, AIPG Jim Shotwell, Chair, National Affairs Committee, AIPG Charles Gardner, President, AASG *************************************************************** * Robert M. Hirsch rhirsch@usgs.gov * * 409 National Center 703-648-5215 * * U.S. Geological Survey fax 703-648-5002 * * Reston, VA 20192 * ***************************************************************