Approve contract 19-33-HFP-01 between Cochise County and J.E. Fuller/Hydrology and Geomorphology, Inc. for monitoring services in the amount of $120,567, effective March 12, 2019 through March 31, 2020.

The Palominas Recharge project was the first in what has grown into a series of properties along the upper San Pedro River that Cochise County owns and/or operates. Palominas Recharge was built in 2014 and the grant funding required at least five years of monitoring of this pilot project. 2019 will be the fifth year of monitoring of Palominas. 

Cochise County has acquired other properties for potential recharge projects and reduction of future water use through conservation easements. Those properties are Riverstone, 3 Canyons, Bella Vista and Horseshoe Draw. It is important that both baseline monitoring and project monitoring be continued. This monitoring (groundwater levels and streamflow peaks and volumes) gives critical information for design of projects and it allows us to measure the effects of a project over doing nothing-- that is to prove the effects of the projects over time. Project monitoring is occurring on Palominas and Horseshoe Draw and baseline monitoring on all others.

The County is currently engaged in a Natural Resources Conservation Services (NRCS) grant funded Watershed Plan and Engineering Design project on Bella Vista to recharge Urban Enhanced Runoff (UER) near the San Pedro River. The baseline monitoring that has been ongoing for two years is proving critically important in design of this project. It is allowing us to better determine what amount of UER is available for recharge and to optimally design the size of the facilities.  This will save construction costs, lead to better functioning of the project and reduce operations and maintenance costs for the life of the project.

Contract with JE Fuller for the period of: 3/12/2019 through 3/31/2020 to complete watershed monitoring services to compile necessary data, analysis and reporting in order to be compliant with on-going grants.

County will be out of compliance with accepted grant terms for Palominas Recharge project. More importantly, County would lose the continuity of data on County recharge projects that is being used to demonstrate positive contributions to both local groundwater tables and baseflows in the San Pedro River in the upper San Pedro basin. This information is critically important to guide future projects and understand and prove the benefits of different projects as well as their cumulative effect.

Record fully executed contract. Return one original (with recordation information) to Procurement and one copy to Teresa Garcia in Engineering and Natural Resources department.