Safford, AZ Questions (Phoenix, Tucson: houses, camping, live)

[eula3]

My hubby and I have been looking at different places to relocate to. We were driving through Safford, and it seemed to me that the surrounding area for many miles was absolutely ravaged by drought. I know the southwest is in a drought, but I wasn't expecting to see that many desert adapted plants withered and dead.

One of the things we had wanted to do was to be able to have a decent size personal garden.

What is going on with the drought in Safford? What are the current water restrictions like? How far below normal has the precipitation been for that area, and what is the conversation like about future water supplies for the town/area?

Thanks!

[Bummer]

Interesting question, Eula.

Not certain about Saffords' drought conditions in particular, however, it is my understanding the rainfall in Southern Arizona is well over the norm so far this year.

Possibly the "withered and dead" plants you mentioned are not actually dead or died from something other than lack of water?

[JSizzle225]

Mod Cut...Wrong link.

Safford is beautiful. I love camping by Roper Lake.

[saffordpastor]

Originally Posted by eula3

My hubby and I have been looking at different places to relocate to. We were driving through Safford, and it seemed to me that the surrounding area for many miles was absolutely ravaged by drought. I know the southwest is in a drought, but I wasn't expecting to see that many desert adapted plants withered and dead.

One of the things we had wanted to do was to be able to have a decent size personal garden.

What is going on with the drought in Safford? What are the current water restrictions like? How far below normal has the precipitation been for that area, and what is the conversation like about future water supplies for the town/area?

Thanks!

Saffords water supply is in good condition...the city and county has secured water for many years and a growing population.
There are no water restrictions here and I dont remember ever having them here.
Yes we have had drought conditions here..as has most of the state, but this winter has been excellant for rain and the countryside is getting ready to explode with greenery....going to be a great year for wildflowers.
A lot of those desert plants go somewhat dormant during drought and come back in wet times....this is the desert and these cycles happen...but we are back to a wet time and I am sure happy for it.
Another thing...Safford is cooler than Phoenix and Tucson so the plant life takes a little longer in the spring to come out...drive through here in a month or two and it will be a different story.
Plus driving east of Safford, you have Chihuhan desert which is typically a bit drier than Sonoran.
PM me for more info...I have lived here most of my life.

[saffordpastor]

Originally Posted by JSizzle225

Here:
Mod cut: Orphaned quote.

Safford is beautiful. I love camping by Roper Lake.

Mod Cut: Link removed.

And yes Roper is a great place...and it looks like we might be keeping it open.

[thegirlinaz]

As a matter of fact, Safford has its own water reclamation plant.

[saffordpastor]

Originally Posted by thegirlinaz

As a matter of fact, Safford has its own water reclamation plant.

True dat...

Also Safford is somewhat unique for this part of the Southwest...we have a lot of year round streams in the county, maybe as many as 14 rivers and streams that always run...not to mention many small ponds, lakes and canals.
Quite a bit of surface water for a desert area.

Here are some of the year round steams..

Gila river
San Francisco river (I think it flows in the county)
Black river
Bonita creek
Eagle creek
Frye creek
Ash creek
Grant creek
Marijilda creek
Soldier creek
Wet creek (Wet Canyon)
Post creek
Big creek
Araiviapa creek

Might be more...just cant remember right now.
Many (at least 9 or 10) have fish in them...
Crappie,
Smallmouth bass
Catfish
Natives
Trout
Carp (ugh)
Green sunfish
and others..

pretty good for a dry area...

[eula3]

Thanks for the information! )

[eula3]

I would add for the sake of fairness, for those who read this string of posts in the future, that I did drive back through Safford this past week and did indeed note a fairly big improvement in the way the plants looked. It was almost like driving through a different place. My hubby and I have put Safford back on our list of potential sites for our next move.

[dead_possum]

We're moving there the end of June. I just visited (looking at houses) at the beginning of this month and was blown away by how the desert look in the spring. One of the mountains to the north had an orange hue to the side of it from all the poppies. I grew up in Phoenix and always hated the desert growing up, until I had the chance to travel around a little and gain an appreciation for the unique features the desert has to offer. The summer months can be kind of brutal (maybe less so in Safford since it's a couple thousand feet higher than PHX), but you can easily escape the heat to any number of mountain ranges within an easy drive, or just grit your teeth and pay a little extra for cranking the thermostat down a notch. Your original post was interesting to me because when I interviewed for a job back in November I was surprised at how green it was for being out in the desert.