Hike along a creek
By ktcosmos on Oct 31, 2008 in Hiking, Outdoor Adventures
If you have experienced hikes in Prescott, you know that many of our trails weave in and out of nearby creekbeds, many of which are dry most of the year. (If you are from another state and hike here, you may not recognize these washes for what they are – they appear as sandy beds in low lying areas. Some call them washes, ephemeral creeks, arroyos or cienegas.)
Chester (my pooch) and I love to head out to these areas the day AFTER a big rain to see if these dry beds are running, with even just a trickle.
Prescott Creeks Preservation Association is working hard on a 5-year restoration project in the area just upstream from Watson Lake. Plans call for revegetation with native plants and resolution of water quality in this area. As the owner of a Chesapeake Bay Retriever who loves to swim in our area lakes but who is sick for serveral days after every dip, I am hopeful this program will ameliorate the contaminants in beautiful Watson Lake.
Prescott Creek’s web site also features hikes and activities that you can do along some of our important waterways here in Prescott. Check that out here.
For more information becoming a volunteer with the Prescott Creeks Preservation Association, or just to learn more about their work, you can contact them directly at 928-445-5669.
Any more info on how the water will be cleaned? My immediate assumption would be that they will be diverting Granite Creek water to the treatment facility that lies along the creek, but I would worry how any treatment they do might affect life in the lake and further down stream.
Tombo | Oct 31, 2008 | Reply
Great question, T. I think I will contact them and ask about that!
ktcosmos | Oct 31, 2008 | Reply
KT:
Thanks for including Prescott Creeks in your blog, and thanks for the note letting us know that you were inspired to do so!
KT & Tombo:
Improving water quality in our streams and lakes is not nearly as straight forward as one might think – or at least as straight forward as we thought. Understanding the causes for quality degradation is among the first steps and this has been a challenge with our creeks because they are dry so much of the time. While the Watson and Willow Lakes do have water all the time (now – it wasn’t too long ago that they didn’t), it is the creeks that feed and fill them. So what comes from upstream also goes downstream.
After two years of monitoring and coordinating with the AZ Dept. of Environmental Quality we still have many unanswered questions. But we are making progress. Right now we are pulling together a stakeholder group that we are calling a ‘Watershed Improvement Council’ to draft a watershed improvement plan. The Council will have representatives from federal, state, local and tribal agencies as well as the business community and the public. The resulting plan will identify and prioritize the best/most-appropriate improvement projects. While the planning is only in the beginning stages, I believe we will be looking at multiple strategies that range from relatively simple revegetation (which have shown to be highly effective right here in the Granite Creek Watershed) to urban stormwater retrofits. And, of course, a little bit of education goes a long way toward keeping water clean and riparian habitats in great shape.
If you’d like more information about the water quality issues, please contact Ann-Marie Benz, our Watershed Program Coordinator. And to get information about volunteering, our Outreach Coordinator Renee Hoover (AmeriCorps Vista volunteer) is the one to chat with. All three of us can be reached at (928) 445-5669.
Michael Byrd | Oct 31, 2008 | Reply