Consideration and Approval of Contract:  Joint Funding Agreement Renewal with the United States Geological Survey for a streamflow gage at Newman Canyon in the amount of $148,910 for the period of May 1, 2025 to September 30, 2029.
 

1. Approve the Joint Funding Agreement with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) for a streamflow gage at Newman Canyon in the amount of $148,910 for the period of May 1, 2025 to September 30, 2029; and
2. Authorize the City Manager to execute the necessary documents.

Staff recommends Council approve this Joint Funding Agreement with the USGS to continue collecting streamflow and turbidity data in Newman Canyon, the largest tributary of Upper Lake Mary. The data collected by the USGS provides information that is essential for forecasting long-term water supply reliability for our customers. Partner funds to offset the City's commitment have been received in the past and will continue to be pursued.

Project Name: Newman Canyon Surface-Water Gaging Network and Collection of Hydrologic Data
Cost: FY2024-25 = $27,427.50.
Account Number Budgeted: 202-08-304-1061-0-4206
FY Budgeted Amount: $34,000 annually
Grant Funded: $0
Funding Source: Water Services Drinking Water Fund

Yes. The City Council approved funding of the initial multi-year Joint Funding Agreement with the USGS on 7/15/2014 and renewed another multi-year contract on 7/7/2020, which included the addition of streamflow sediment data collection. The City Council also authorized a $19,000 transfer from a joint account with the National Park Service Foundation on June 16, 2020, to use for this project. The National Park Service Foundation account is jointly managed by the National Park Service, U.S. Forest Service, and the City.

1. Renew the multi-year Joint Funding Agreement with the USGS where the total cost for the period from May 1, 2025 to September 30, 2029 is $148,910; or
2. Elect not to renew the Joint Funding Agreement. This would limit the data available to what has been collected and available on the USGS website to the date range October 1, 2014 through September 30, 2024. Not renewing the Joint Funding Agreement would limit the research conducted by a number of agencies and students, including researchers at Northern Arizona University, Arizona State University, Salt River Project, and the public. The City of Flagstaff benefits from the science derived from the data provided by the USGS; or
3. The City Council could also elect to limit the scope of work to only the collection of the streamflow data, or the turbidity data.

This streamflow gage was installed in 2014 with funding from the City of Flagstaff, the Flagstaff Watershed Protection Project, and the Lake Mary-Walnut Canyon Technical Advisory Committee National Park Service Foundation account, with contributing dollars from the USGS. Data from the streamflow gage informs staff about the frequency and timing of flows that fill Upper Lake Mary, which is especially informative when learning about the watershed's response to climate and forest treatments. This information is also important to a vast number of stakeholders with interests in the Upper Lake Mary watershed. The gage collects rainfall and streamflow data in near real-time, and is available on the USGS website at https://waterdata.usgs.gov/usa/nwis/uv?09400815. A turbidity sensor and sediment analysis services were added to the program in 2019. 

This is a federal-fiscal-year agreement. The $27,427.50 is the cost to the City in FY25 (July 1, 2024-June 30, 2025 vs. the cost in the agreement of $26,100 based on October 1, 2024 - September 30, 2025). The total cost of the Joint Funding Agreement Renewal with the USGS is $148,910 for the period of May 1, 2025 to September 30, 2029.

Sustainable and Innovative Infrastructure

• Deliver outstanding services to residents through a healthy, well-maintained infrastructure system

• Utilize existing long-range plans that identify the community’s future infrastructure needs and all associated costs

Environmental Stewardship

• Promote, protect, and enhance a healthy, sustainable environment and its natural resources

• Strengthen Flagstaff’s resilience to climate change impacts on built, natural, economic, health, and social systems

Goal E&C.3. Strengthen community and natural environment resiliency through climate adaptation efforts.

• Policy E&C.3.3. Invest in forest health and watershed protection measures.
• Policy E&C.3.4. Increase the region’s preparedness for extreme climate events.

Goal E&C.4. Integrate available science into policies governing the use and conservation of Flagstaff ’s natural resources.

• Policy E&C.4.1.Assess vulnerabilities and risks of Flagstaff’s natural resources.
• Policy E&C.4.2. Develop water use policies that attempt to integrate current best projections of climate change effects on the Colorado Plateau’s water resources and emphasize conservation.

Goal WR.1. Maintain a sustainable water budget incorporating regional hydrology, ecosystem needs, and social and economic well-being.

• Policy WR.1.2. Seek regional opportunities to partner with resource land managers and adjacent landowners to improve water yield and hydrologic processes.

Community Resilience

• CR-1 Ensure all mitigation actions improve Flagstaff’s ability to adapt to the future.

Water Security

• WS-1 Improve ecosystem management for protection of water resources.

Healthy Forests and Open Spaces

• HF-1 Protect existing forests, resources, and meaningful open spaces.
• HF-2 Restore and maintain the natural fire-adapted structure and pattern of the forests of the greater Flagstaff region through collaboration with partners.

None

Water Resource Management 

• Policy B1.1 The City should maximize the use and delivery of local renewable water supplies that are available in any given year.
• Strategy B1.2b The temporal aspect of the water supply for redundancy. For example, will the redundant water supply be available for a long time (i.e. groundwater) or for a shorter time frame (e.g. surface water in Lake Mary). When considering production infrastructure (i.e. wells), the redundancy should be available permanently.