Design Begins on Key Elements of Arizona River Restoration Project

摘要

Long before Phoenix became the major metropolitan area that it is today, the area's rivers supported a network of wetlands and a variety of riparian habitats that played a critical role in ensuring the survival of numerous species native to the Sonoran Desert. However, the growth of the city and surrounding region has come at the expense of these habitats, as much of the surface water and groundwater that once supported them and the animal and plant species dwelling therein has been diverted for agricultural, industrial, and municipal purposes. In an effort to re-create these vanishing habitats, five Arizona municipalities have joined forces in an ecosystem restoration project known as Tres Rios, and design work recently began on two of the project's main components.