By Madelaine Braggs | Rose Law Group Reporter
In the heart of the arid American Southwest, water is a precious resource that shapes not only the landscapes but the livelihoods of those who call this region home. Arizona officials have long grappled with the delicate balance of water conservation, supply management, and sustainability. However, it’s only getting more complicated as leaders now find themselves struggling to dispel national misinformation about local water management, causing corporations to pull out of billion-dollar investment plans, and thus putting a chilling effect to the state’s economic development.
Water experts from Rose Law Group, the Central Arizona Project, ASU’s Kyl Center of Water Policy, Costar and the Greater Phoenix Economic Council also say Arizona’s water situation has been negatively sensationalized and they insist the state is well-prepared.
To this point, here are three eye-opening facts reported by Vertical Street Partners with information presented at the Arizona Water Panel:
FACT #1: Arizona’s water usage is below 1957 levels. The state has made incredible strides in water conservation, thanks to innovative practices, responsible usage, and reduction in agriculture.
FACT #2: Arizona has 1.75 times more water stored than it uses.
FACT #3: Arizona boasts both the legal framework and physical infrastructure needed to maintain a 100-year assured water supply. This means our future generations can count on a sustainable water source.
Chairman of Rose Law Group Water Law Department, David Johnson, says that we are in the midst of a key time in water policy where State leaders will potentially reconfigure current water laws to meet the needs of the future. He and others are working with various State agencies and private water utility companies to make the changes that will allow the continuation of a sustainable future.
Maricopa County Supervisorand Rose Law Group partner, Thomas Galvin knows first-hand how bureaucratic tape can unnecessarily tie up resources. On a county level, he represented the Rio Verde Foothills neighborhood during their struggle to find an agreement on supplying the unincorporated residential area, which had been relying on hauling water from a standpipe inside city limits.
Galvin proposed a treat and transport plan in which a private water utility company with the internal infrastructure and expertise to manage a standpipe would haul water from that standpipe to RVF residents. In the short term, that would have meant using existing City of Scottsdale infrastructure and paying the City for its usage. In the long-term, he worked with the private utility EPCOR to build and operate a new standpipe.
Yet it took over a year for Rio Verde Foothills to have reliable water. Not because the water wasn’t there, but because parties struggled to agree on how to share it.
A recent Pinal Partnership panel discussion brought together experts and leaders in the water resources field to shed light on the innovative approaches to Arizona water management that are already underway. Below are the major takeaways.
Teamwork, Honesty, and Superior Sustainability
Superior Mayor Mila Besich highlights the water-conscious nature of Superior’s residents. In a region where water is scarce, the community’s commitment to minimal landscaping sets an example to all new incoming neighbors, many flocking from other states. Superior has also elevated their sustainability campaign by tying in water conservation to wildlife protection and fire maintenance. Superior’s approach is part of a larger, more comprehensive strategy. “Staying honest and engaged at the table is critically important,” Mayor Besich says.
She also emphasizes the significance of partnerships and transparency in their water initiatives. Their collaboration with the University of Arizona and Resolution Copper underscores the need for open dialogue in addressing critical water issues. Superior was able to take part in the WaterNow Alliance Leadership Academy, and with that is now able to build a rain water garden project on a lot in downtown that was previously unfit for typical development. With this new purpose, a development with even bigger impact on the community will take place.
Through monthly meetings with Arizona Water and near-daily discussions with Resolution Copper, they’ve learned the importance of maintaining community trust through communication. The historical impact of mining on the region’s water dynamics has only reinforced the value of those relationships with utility partners.
A study conducted in the 90’s showed historic mining operations created fissures in Queen Creek, so a lot of the surface water that should be filling our aquifers are actually leaking into the mine. Mayor Besich said the City had to work strongly on further studies and relationship building with utility partners to address the leakage.
“We do a yearly field trip for our council and community leaders to see our water system. It’s one of the most complicated water systems in the West because that water is being pumped uphill with hydraulic pumps. It’s a complex system and the history of our system is actually going to be leading us into the future.”
Integrated Demand Management Programs
Raluca Mihalcescu, Water Conservation Coordinator at Arizona Water Company, discussed pioneering the Integrated Demand Management Programs (IDMP) in Pinal County. They launched six campaigns in the following service areas: City of Casa Grande, City of Coolidge, Town of Superior, Community of Gold Canyon, City of Apache Junction, with a regional program covering the communities of Saddlebrooke Ranch, Oracle, and San Manuel. These six programs provide water conservation information and resources to over 60% of their customers.
Mihalcescu emphasized that these programs are not solely the work of Arizona Water. Instead, they are the result of partnerships with communities, a collaborative approach aimed at harnessing the combined strengths of the utility and the communities it serves. This approach is rooted in the belief that working together leads to better ideas and more effective conservation.
Efficiency is another focus. Mihalcescu says Arizona Water aims not only to promote water conservation but also to utilize water efficiently, holding themselves to the same standards they expect from their customers. Their water resource strategy prioritizes developing a diverse water supply and using all available sources efficiently.
By the end of 2023, Arizona Water plans on launching programs for the communities of Sedona and the Village of Oak Creek to add to the existing water conservation resources in those areas. Their current plan for 2024 includes an Integrated Demand Management Program for customers in the Lakeside-Pinetop service area, launching a pilot rebate program, expanding workshops into more service areas, and expanding free conservation kit programs in 2024. Their goal is to have Integrated Demand Management Programs for all customers by the end of 2026.
Maricopa-Stanfield Basin Study and the Path Forward
Data from the nearly completed Maricopa-Stanfield Basin Study will serve as another asset in Arizona’s water management. The study area consists of the Eloy and the Maricopa-Stanfield sub-basins, a region dominated by agricultural activity with the primary source of water being mined groundwater.
According to Central Arizona Project, access to renewable supplies for irrigation districts in the area will decrease in the future and additional groundwater pumping will be necessary to meet demands, resulting in increased water level declines and land subsidence. In the event that additional groundwater pumping is insufficient to meet agricultural demand, some acreage is anticipated to be taken out of production.
Jake Lenderking, Senior Vice President at Global Water Resources, says the multi-million-dollar grant that supported the basin study helped the state explore water supply, demand, climate change, and adaptation and mitigation measures. Soon, the focus shifts to securing additional federal funding, thanks to a strong foundation laid by the study.
EPCOR’s Infrastructure Experience
EPCOR, a local utility provider, has been improving the region’s infrastructure with the new Copper Basin Water Reclamation Facility set to go live this December. This state-of-the-art facility aims to mitigate limitations imposed by regulatory agencies, ensuring a more reliable water supply for the community.
Located in Pinal County’s San Tan Valley, Copper Basin will replace the existing and outdated lagoon-style plant that was constructed more than 20 years ago. In doing so, EPCOR will also return more than 1 billion gallons of safe, clean water annually to the natural water cycle through aquifer recharge.
Manager of Water Resources Doug Dunham says, “That’ll help us continue to move forward. Hopefully, when that state-of-the-art plant comes online, we’ll be able to mitigate some of the connection moratorium or limitations that DEQ has on us, so that’ll be good news for everybody.”
EPCOR is also in pursuit of additional grant funding through partnerships, such as with the New Magma Irrigation District, to provide high-quality effluent for long-term, renewable water supply, as well as their collaboration with Resolution Copper and other local communities.
“We’ll directly be able to provide that to the district. They’ll be able to lay off groundwater pumping and use this as a long-term renewable water supply to kind of help stretch our supplies out,” he said.
“We partnered locally with Resolution Copper and we’ve been able to provide them some water service closer to where they need it and then we’re able to obtain some of the long-term storage credits that they’ve had. So, we’re able to do some horse trading with that.”
EPCOR also partnered with the Town of Florence to do a similar exchange. Florence has been challenged on how to use their cap allocation to bring it into the into the county, so EPCOR and the new Magna Irrigation District will provide storage credits to allow the Town to use the water, greatly benefiting residents.
Queen Creek’s Creative Partnerships
Paul Gardner, Queen Creek’s utility services director, highlighted the Town’s unique approach to water management. The town realized that their robust cap allocation wouldn’t suffice in the long term, leading them to seek local control over water costs.
“We start out on a journey of looking at other water supplies throughout the state. One of the things unique to Queen Creek is our eastern boundary. Our water service territory is about eight to nine miles of the Central Arizona Project (CAP) canal, so we started looking throughout the state at where we could find volumes of water, where that water could then go into the CAP canal and then end up in Queen Creek,” said Gardner.
He emphasizes the historical pattern of moving water to where people want to live, a practice spanning centuries in the state.
“One of the things I want for everybody in Arizona to understand is that not just for the last 150 years, but probably for the last thousand years, people in this region have taken water and moved it to where they want to live. We haven’t moved people to where water is, we’ve been very good at doing water projects to where people want to live and want to raise their families somewhere and we’ve moved water from point A to point B, many times uphill.”
Queen Creek is proving it by moving surplus groundwater from the Harquahala Valley, about 80 miles west of Phoenix. The Harquahala Groundwater Basin is one of the three sub basins that was set aside by the legislature during the early 90’s to take water at a future date and to put it into the CAP canal as a backup supply. But Gardner says more infrastructure is still needed. “When it was set up, we weren’t even using our CAP allocation at all as a state. We didn’t realize that by the time we got to the 2020s, we were going to need that water supply. So we have contracted for 5,000 acre feet of water and we have a sister community, Buckeye, that has contracted for nearly 6,000 acre feet.”
In September, the Justice Department signed off on Queen Creek’s deal to get water from the canal and the Town be able to use that water supply as an assured water supply to pledge against future subdivisions, plus to use against current groundwater pumping.
Dispelling Arizona Water Myths
Despite what national outlets may erroneously believe, Arizona officials didn’t wake up one day and suddenly realize it’s a desert. They’ve known it for a while. In a state where every drop of water counts, officials continue to create room for growth by taking a water supply that is already guaranteed for 100 years and extending that supply further with different water sources. Municipalities across the state are working with other agencies and communities to plan for the foreseeable future.
Jordan Rose, President and Founder of Rose Law Group says, “Arizona has the most sustainable responsible set of laws governing the use of water in the country. What other state requires a builder to prove that they have 100 full years of water supply, disregarding any potential for technological advance in that 100 years that might help bring more supply to the state? Arizona’s leaders have always been focused on Arizona growth being able to proliferate far into the future.”
These experts and leaders in water management showcase that while challenges exist, Arizona is actively implementing innovative strategies, building partnerships, and ensuring a sustainable water future for residents.
