Developers create a community master plan because it helps growth happen in an orderly fashion.
But can you do the same thing to pull down aquifers and minimize problems like land subsidence and fissures while maximizing groundwater pumping for your buyers?
we’re trying to find
Landowners want state pumping permits
Harquahala Valley Landowners LLC, which represents farmers and investors who own land in the area, plans to pump 7.6 million acre-feet over 100 years from the Harquahala Irrigation Non-expansion Area west of Phoenix to Queen Creek and the State Lands Department. applied to .
That’s enough to submerge the state of Maryland one foot under water.
If the state water commissioner approves their request, that 7.6 million acre-feet will be pumped over time from more than 28,000 acres larger than the city of Tempe.
Queen Creek will also have access to 500,000 acre feet of water for over 100 years. authorization to transport that water It runs through the nearby Central Arizona Project Canal, traverses Metro Phoenix, and eventually reaches the town’s homes and businesses.
This may sound complicated, but it is.
But the results are also very important.
It opens the floodgates to water sources that many once considered too costly or difficult to access.
Only certain basins can transport water
In the 1990s, rural communities feared that thirsty cities would one day draw on aquifer water.
As such, Congress passed a compromise bill banning the transfer of groundwater from all but a few basins.
Who can pump this water and the rules governing its quantity vary from basin to basin.
in Harukaharalandowners can pump water out of the basin at a fixed rate each year, or ask managers to pump more if they can prove that it “does not unreasonably increase damage” to others nearby. can appeal to
It is mostly farmers who have known for years that the city will eventually come for their land.
The people involved in this project have agreed to decommission the land and its current water use for agriculture once others have started pumping.
But there are pitfalls.
They want the ‘master plan’ to dry up
This water can only be transferred to political zones within the first active management area. This actually means the cities of Metro Phoenix, Pinal County, and Tucson.
And these cities must own the Halquahala land to pump water.
For years people thought cities needed to buy up thousands of acres of farmland and pump enough water to make it worthwhile.
But here’s where the Haakahala Valley landowner’s proposal gets creative.
Landowners pool their land into one master-planned depletion project.
The goal is to maximize moisture and minimize adverse effects
The city only needs to purchase one acre of a 40-acre subdivision, but has access to water pumped from many connected wells on land it does not own directly.
These wells are drilled in stages and in optimally prepared land to produce the most water.
It matters because placement matters. Moving a well 40 acres from side to side can make a big difference not just in water quantity, but in water quality as well.
Instead of doing this step-by-step process, you can place wells in optimal locations to ensure the best possible water.
Arizona’s water crisis:What it means for some cities
That way, cities can get the water they need at a pace that doesn’t exacerbate the huge fissures and sunken lands that normally accompany groundwater depletion, without the burden of maintaining large amounts of land.
Or, at least, that’s an argument in front of the state’s water commissioner.
Additional hurdles even if states say yes
Even if he says yes, there are other hurdles to overcome.
Water flowing through the canals of the nearby Central Arizona Project must meet certain water quality standards. Defining them has been a multi-year process.
This also means that water city pumps will likely need treatment before they enter the canal. It is unclear what that entails or how much it will cost.
Queen Creek will be the first to introduce the concept in 2021. pay $30 million for that acre – And it can carry 5,000 acre feet of water per year for 100 years.
buckeye recent agreed to pay $80 million It’s not ready for use yet, but it’s about the same amount of water.
Cities need water.See how this unfolds
But there are plenty of other cities that have big question marks on renewable supplies, especially the water in the Central Arizona Project.
If the state agrees with Harquahala Valley Landowners, a significant amount of water could be immediately considered for future transportation (although subsequent cities would apply to the state water management office for access and is expected to prove how much is left). and how their pumping does not adversely affect others).
This is our first foray into the Brave New World, transporting water from one aquifer for cities to use in another.
and one that takes a novel approach to pumping – instead of completely draining a basin, it essentially creates a “master plan” to remove the cheapest and best water to mitigate the negative effects of drainage. do.
Notice how this is done.
to reach All Hands joanna.allhands@arizonarepublic.com. on Twitter: @joanna allhands.
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