Surface water and groundwater are intimately linked through a highly permeable layer of alluvial sediment along the riverbed.
The shallow groundwater along the river is connected to the deeper regional groundwater system, and both are heavily impacted by groundwater pumping from wells.
The Santa Cruz River in southern Arizona is closely connected to the regional aquifer system, and is experiencing stress due to high groundwater pumping rates (for irrigation and residential development).
These figures were created for the Arizona Land and Water Trust, as part of a basin-wide groundwater conservation study, and were incorporated into brochures distributed to local stakeholders.