A majority of the work performed by ADEQ's Nonpoint Source Program is funded by Clean Water Act grants, awarded by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency which requires States to report annually on progress in meeting the schedule of milestones contained in their nonpoint source management plans, and report reductions in nonpoint source pollutant loadings and improvement in water quality resulting from program implementation.

This report describes the economic impacts of travel to and through Arizona and the state’s fifteen counties. The estimates of the direct impacts associated with traveler spending in Arizona were produced using the Regional Travel Impact Model developed by Dean Runyan Associates. The estimates for Arizona are comparable to the U.S. Travel and Tourism Satellite Accounts produced by the Bureau of Economic Analysis. The estimates of spending, earnings, employment and tax receipts are also used as input data to derive estimates of other economic measures, including gross domestic product and secondary effects of the travel industry.

This survey of visitors to Arizona’s wine tourism regions was undertaken to gather market research on a growing industry, including visitor demographics, travel patterns, satisfaction with the experience and spending patterns. This information will assist the wineries, vineyards, tasting rooms and local tourism communities in the wine regions with targeted marketing efforts, product development, and advocacy for a burgeoning industry that is critical to the health of these rural regional economies.

A survey of visitors to Native American tribal lands in Arizona was commissioned by the Arizona Office of Tourism and conducted by NAU’s Arizona Hospitality Research & Resource Center in 2004-2005. This research constituted the first major study of visitors to Native American tribes in Arizona and possibly in the Southwest. This final report, Survey of Visitors to Arizona Tribal Lands, provides first-ever baseline visitor data, presented in aggregate for the eight participating Arizona tribes. The study found that visitors to these Native American tribes in Arizona are slightly older, have higher annual incomes, stay longer, and have higher daily expenditures (for lodging, shopping and entertainment) than Arizona visitors generally. Visitors to Arizona’s tribes are also more interested in cultural and historic activities, shopping for arts and crafts, educational experiences and sightseeing than are visitors overall. They are also highly satisfied with their visits to Native American tribal lands.

This report is a reexamination of visitor data first reported in the multi-year "Survey of Visitors to Arizona’s Tribal Lands," which was commissioned by the Arizona Office of Tourism and conducted in 2004-05 by the Arizona Hospitality Research and Resource Center at Northern Arizona University. That study, released in December 2005, analyzed visitor data collected for eight Arizona American Indian tribes and presented that data in aggregate for all tribes. This report, on the other hand, disaggregates that original database to take a more in-depth look at visitor patterns at Rural versus Metro tribes in Arizona.

Generally, this second study found that visitors to Rural and Metro tribes in Arizona are similar in many ways – parties of two persons; parties composed largely of family members; similar educational and income levels; private vehicles as travel mode; similar sightseeing and cultural/heritage activities; similar information sources; relatively high satisfaction levels; and, many similar shopping purchases. The survey also found some significant differences, however, including the following: Travel parties visiting Rural tribes contained more children, more Arizona residents, and had higher numbers of repeat visitors. Visitors to Rural tribes were also more likely to describe the tribe as their main destination; were more likely to engage in recreation and outdoor activities; stayed longer; and, consequently had higher spending. Visitors to Metro tribes were slightly older and visited the tribe as one stop on a longer trip. Visitors also reported slightly higher satisfaction levels at Metro tribes.

This study involved the review of 417 ADEQ LUST site files and compilation of relevant data from 323 of these sites into an electronic database. It also involved the collection and analysis of over 700 supplemental groundwater samples, the assessment of aquifer flow properties from 32 wells at 11 sites, and more detailed characterization at six LUST sites representative of a range of conditions at AZ LUST facilities. In addition, over 300 groundwater level measurements were performed and 175 monitoring wells were re-surveyed in order to assess errors in standard practice and their impact on groundwater flow direction determination. An empirical analysis of groundwater impacts at AZ LUST sites was conducted using these data sets, with emphasis on identifying relationships between site conditions (e.g., geology, depth-to-groundwater, etc.) and groundwater impacts. Finally, a combined theoretical-spatial (GIS) analysis was performed to identify LUST scenarios posing the greatest threats to use of groundwater resources.