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Zuni Drought Contingency Plan

Zuni Culture of Land

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Zuni Drought Contingency Plan

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    1. Zuni Drought Contingency Plan Kirk Bemis, Hydrologist Water Resources Section Conservation Program Zuni Tribe, New Mexico

    3. Zuni Culture of Land & Water Have occupied aboriginal lands in AZ & NM semi-arid desert of Colorado Plateau since time immemorial (Anasazi cultural affiliation) Have farmed in Zuni River watershed floodplains for at least 3,000 years Complex socioreligious system revolves around water, including special beliefs and taboos regarding flood and drought

    4. Zuni Water Resources (New Mexico Reservation) Surface water Few perennial or intermittent streams Spring snowmelt and summer storm runoff 10 reservoirs totaling ~7,000 acre-feet of capacity Ground water 1 regional aquifer (San Andres-Glorieta) 8 local aquifers (varying extent, yields, & quality) Over 100 wells (~1 gpm to ~1,500 gpm) 4 major spring areas (~50 gpm to ~200 gpm)

    5. Zuni Water Uses (New Mexico Reservation) Municipal 2 wells in regional aquifer & 3 backup wells in local aquifer Domestic all aquifers Farming 5 reservoir irrigation districts (4 at major spring areas) Ranching all streams, reservoirs, and aquifers; stock ponds Fish & Wildlife/Recreation all streams, reservoirs (4 dedicated), springs, and stock ponds Construction 2 reservoirs and 3 spring areas Wildfire Suppression reservoirs, springs, and ranch water tanks

    6. Zuni Drought Contingency Plan Development 1996 – Drought Emergency Assistance request to Bureau of Reclamation includes $27,000 for Plan 1997 – Grant under Title II of Reclamation States Emergency Drought Relief Act of 1991 1998 – Tribal learning, planning, meetings 1999 – Tribal consultant technical work 2000 – Drought delays but influences Plan 2001 – Plan completed/adopted by Tribal Council Resolution

    7. Zuni Drought Contingency Plan Overview Only for lands in Zuni River Basin in New Mexico Drought indices use existing federal data collection efforts Palmer Drought Severity Index (PDSI): standard from NOAA CPC Zuni Precipitation Index (ZPI): customized with 3 NOAA stations Zuni Stream Flow Index (SFI): customized with 1 USGS station 3 Drought Stages (+Receding): Alert, Warning, Emergency Possible response actions regardless of drought stage Emphasis on long-term mitigation actions to reduce risk No new, formal committees; uses existing programs Lead responsibility with Water Resources Program

    8. Zuni Drought Contingency Plan Monitoring Reports Prepared monthly since May 2002 Drought index values and stages for recent month PDSI: Weekly values (NM Northwestern Plateau Climate Division 1) ZPI: 6-month similar to SPI (Zuni, McGaffey, El Morro stations) SFI: Annual cumulative exceedence flows (Rio Nutria station) Precipitation for recent month, calendar and water years to date NOAA stations at Zuni, McGaffey, El Morro and Fence Lake (and basin averages) Snow Water Equivalent for recent month (January-April) NRCS stations at Boon, Dan Valley and McGaffey (and basin averages) Streamflow for recent month USGS stations at Zuni River and Rio Nutria Reservoir storage for current month Zuni stations for 9 Zuni reservoirs and 1 non-Zuni reservoir U.S. Drought Monitor intensity status; and SPI (from WRCC) No forecasting in consideration of drought taboo

    11. Zuni Drought Plan Development Challenges & Lessons Learned Cultural taboo to “plan” for drought; public involvement Water rights considerations for water supply and use data Risk increased by Tribal “financial and political” drought; (lack of water rights, development- esp. groundwater, maintenance, and management policies and resources) Selling the need for a Plan as a worthy investment (No Tribal contingency plans for other hazards!) Avoiding typical fate of plans doomed to the bookshelf

    12. 2002 Drought Plan Implementation 5/15/2002 – First monitoring report shows all indices at a Drought Stage (PDSI = Warning; ZPI = Alert; SFI = Emergency) 5/17/2002 – Programs meet, recommend to declare Drought Emergency 5/17/2002 – Drought Emergency declared by Tribal Council Resolution 7/19/2002 – Monitoring report shows all indices at Emergency Stage 8/16/2002 – Drought Response Report completed by Tribe, BIA & IHS

    13. 2002 Drought Impact Assessment May to August - General and sector-focused meetings to assess impacts and needed assistance Farming, ranching & construction most affected Municipal source okay but increased demand by other sectors on old system that was already stressed Drought Response Report recommended priorities for ranching, construction & public watering sites and community outreach

    14. 2002 Drought Response and Mitigation Municipal Old system with continued restrictions (only essential uses) New system transition but with old system restrictions Construction Negotiation of private right-of-way access to local spring Acquisition of irrigated farm land for pond development Ranching Improvements at 7 wells to be shared by multiple ranchers Modification of old municipal well & tank for public water hauling Livestock Drought Seminar Public information via local radio, newspaper, flyers, meetings Well inventory for monitoring, development & protection (BOR grant)

    17. 2006 Drought Plan Implementation 6/30/2006 – Monitoring report shows all indices at a Drought Stage (PDSI = Alert; ZPI = Emergency; SFI = Emergency) 7/7/2006 – Programs meet, recommend to declare Drought Emergency 7/20/2006 – Drought Emergency declared by Tribal Council Resolution 7,8,9/2006 – Record rainfall and flooding help and hurt drought response 12/29/2006 – Drought Response Report completed by Tribe, BIA & IHS

    18. 2006 Drought Impact Assessment August and September – Meetings to assess impacts and needed assistance Farming and ranching most affected New municipal system okay Drought Response Report recommended priorities for ranching and public watering sites

    19. 2006 Drought Response and Mitigation Improvements at 15 ranching wells/tanks BOR grant and BIA labor/materials Improvements at public water hauling site Spring inventory for monitoring, development, and protection (BOR grant)

    20. Zuni Drought Plan Implementation Challenges & Lessons Learned Drought magnifies weaknesses in physical infrastructure, natural resources management & governmental organizations These weaknesses have increased risk but also endurance Community norm of having little, relying on government Government norm of inadequate resources, always reacting Minimize short-term relief that increases vulnerability, dependence on government, and “new” program workload Emphasize long-term mitigation that supports better resource management, land user self-reliance, & “existing” workload Plan is needed to help ourselves since minimal assistance is available just for drought, even with a Plan Without buy-in at every step/level, Plan will remain paper

    21. Zuni Drought Contingency Plan Future Revisions Recommended every 5 years or after drought (none yet) For Zuni indices, update with new data and review stage triggering criteria and usefulness of longer time periods Evaluate use of other Zuni data and other available data/tools Formalize simple but flexible criteria, protocol, and consequences for Tribal Council declarations Pursue more community education and involvement Include more “incentives” for program buy-in/follow-through Revisions for Reclamation/Congressional recognition?

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