Developers must find new water for homes planned west of Phoenix

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Developers must find new water for homes planned west of Phoenix

January 14, 2023

A newly released state report on groundwater supplies in the desert west of Phoenix shows challenges looming for developers hoping to build hundreds of thousands of homes there.

It also marks the beginning of efforts by Arizona’s new governor to strengthen groundwater management statewide.

Gov. Katie Hobbs released a modeling report Monday afternoon, showing that other water sources will be needed to move forward with plans to add homes for more than 800,000 people west of the White Tank Range. .

The Arizona Department of Water Resources developed a model showing inadequate water for much of what was supposed to be the westernmost suburban development, but the government at the time. Doug Ducey’s term. Hobbes mentioned it in his speech to the state, along with other initiatives, including a new council dedicated to updating the state’s 1980 Groundwater Protection Act for a new era of scarcity.

Hobbs also announced the new Governor’s Resiliency Office, which will include coordinating agencies, tribal governments and experts to find land, water and energy solutions for the state.

“We must speak to the challenges of our time: decades of drought in Arizona, overuse of the Colorado River, and the compounding impact on our water supplies, forests, and communities. not.

For developments on the western edge of the city, information released by her team indicates that much of the planned Buckeye area, north of Interstate 10 and west and north of the White Tank Mountains, is a vast expanse of desert. Developers with large land will need more water. make their vision come true.

A report called Hassayampa Lower Basin Groundwater Model, We found that projected growth would more than double groundwater use, throwing it off balance by 15%. State groundwater laws require developers in the Phoenix area to obtain state certification that water supplies are guaranteed 100 years before construction.

Arizona’s Director of Water Resources, Tom Buschatzke, said Monday that the state will not issue new certificates for the area unless developers find a safe source of water in addition to the local groundwater.

“Breathing chamber”:Buckeye adopts plan to find more water as city expands rapidly

A new home needs a new water source

Several of the Buckeye parcels in the area have already been certified by Buschatzke for an estimated thousands of homes, which combined will create demand for 50,000 acre-feet in a basin that already uses 123,000 acre-feet. will be added. The aquifer can clearly withstand that amount, but it can’t handle the 100,000 acre-feet of demand that departmental analysts envision for the zone’s hundreds of thousands of homes.

Howard Hughes Corp. is a major player in the area, with 100,000 homes planned for the 37,000-acre Teravalis development. Formerly known as Douglas Ranch.

The question of where developers can get the water to sustain such vast residential areas has presented a mystery so far. A report released by the state this week provides the first answer. They don’t find water solely in aquifers beneath the land. Instead, if they want to build facilities, they must find new ways to import and possibly recycle water.

“Some of the big plans that exist for master-planned communities need to find other water supplies or other solutions,” Buschatzke said.

Howard Hughes, which was contacted on Tuesday, did not respond to a request for an interview, but provided a statement from Phoenix area president Heath Melton. Our elected officials, civic agencies, and community stakeholders advance the latest water management and conservation technologies to help secure a prosperous and sustainable future for Arizona’s West Valley and Southwest. increase.

For now, groundwater shortages could leave many buildings at the western end of the valley stranded. But it could also foreshadow the push for large-scale new infrastructure projects, such as marine desalination plants and pipeline proposals that state water finance committees have agreed to evaluate. Led by an Israeli company that builds or operates a chemical plant, the proposal would pipe water from Mexico northwards through the Buckeye to a canal for the Central Arizona project.

Other options include moving water westward from other areas, such as the Harquahala Valley, or recycling wastewater, Buschatzke said. However, these options can take years.

Buckeye officials have sent a statement to the Republic of Arizona saying they need time to review the report but will work to ensure sustainable growth. our existing customers. ”

new growth:Where will the water for the large community planned for the Buckeye come from?

Researcher: Finding water isn’t cheap or easy

Kathleen Ferris, a water researcher at Arizona State University, has called for the release of a report on groundwater, and said Tuesday she was happy Hobbes made it public. Along with the Policy Center, he was the former director of the Water Resources Department and helped enact the Groundwater Act of 1980. This is what he needs 100 years of supply for new developments.

“This is a very important step,” says Ferris. “Like the governor said, it’s about transparency and knowledge. We shouldn’t allow this growth when there’s no water.”

Ferris counts himself among the skeptics who don’t believe a seawater desalination plant will be up and running anytime soon. It does not mean that buckeye cannot grow, but finding water to grow is neither cheap nor easy.

She also warned that other cities with stronger water portfolios are also looking to get new water to secure their futures.

Beyond Buckeye, Ferris said Hobbes was right to push for better groundwater management statewide. Not regulated. He doesn’t need a 100-year supply rule, but groundwater users everywhere should be held accountable for tracking and reporting their usage, Ferris said. This will help the state know when it must act to protect stressed aquifers, as it did this winter by halting the expansion of irrigated agriculture around Kingman. increase.

Attempts to address local groundwater with statewide regulation will face resistance in the Arizona legislature. approved.

Ferris said states should have candid discussions about where and how much they can grow no matter what happens. She hopes the governor’s announcement is the beginning of such a calculation. “You can’t approve a plot just for groundwater,” she said.

Some advocates for the renewal and strengthening of statewide groundwater protection are encouraged that Hobbes has launched an administration with a move to do just that.

Hayley Paul, regional policy director and co-chair of the Audubon Institute, said: Arizona water Union.

The Hassayampa groundwater report shows that now that Arizona can’t rely on excess Colorado River water to backfill its pumped groundwater, it needs to do something different. Paul said. She said the report was a “reality check” on uncontrolled growth in the desert, following similar findings where groundwater depletion caused growth to be limited in Pinal County.