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Agua Fria River Watershed

Updated 3/28/08

Description of Watershed

The Agua Fria River Area Watershed is located along the Agua Fria-New River in Maricopa and Yavapai Counties, Arizona. There are 1,556,731 acres in the watershed. About 449,111 acres are privately owned, and about 326,855 acres are on State Land. The headwaters of the watershed start in Yavapai County in the Chino Winds NRCD which is covered by the Prescott Valley Service Center. Land uses include some irrigated pasture and hayland, with rangeland being the vast majority of the land use. The majority of the watershed is centrally located in the Agua Fria-New River NRCD, with a small portion encompassing the northeast portion of the Buckeye Valley NRCD. These conservation districts are served by the NRCS Avondale Field Office.

Agua Fria River agricultural lands use many different types of irrigation systems for crop production. They include, but are not limited to, sprinkler, drip, and surface irrigation. There are about 123,631 acres of irrigated cropland in the watershed. Important crops include corn, cotton, alfalfa, lettuce, radishes, watermelon, roses and citrus.

The remaining area is Sonora Desert rangeland dominated by creosote bush, bristlebrush, and white bursage. Precipitation averages 6-8 inches per year. Ephemeral spring grazing only occurs in wet years. Nearly all rangeland is state or federally owned.CSP map of Agua Fria River Watershed

Map of Aqua Fria River Watershed

The following document requires Adobe Acrobat

Agua Fria River Watershed Map (321 KB)

Land Ownership
  

 Ownership

Acres

Private

449,111

State

326,855

BLM

     291,285

Forest Service

      465,440
Defense          2,405
Other         21,634

Total

1,556,731


Counties in the Watershed

  • Yavapai
  • Maricopa

    • Program Contacts

    Avondale Field Office
    Corey Nelson, District Conservationist
    12408 W. Indian School Road
    Avondale, Arizona 85323-9505
    (623) 535-5055, ext. 120

    Chandler Field Office
    Phill Jacquez, District Conservationist
    805 East Warner Road, #104
    Chandler, Arizona  85225
    (480) 988-1078, ext. 104

    Prescott Field Office
    Kresta Faaborg, District Conservationist
    8841 E. Florentine Rd., Suite C
    Prescott Valley, Arizona 86314-8776
    (928) 759-9301, ext. 106

    NRCS State Office
    Kevin Stein, CSP Program Manager
    230 N. 1st Ave., Suite 509
    Phoenix, AZ 85003
    602-280-8800

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