Pam's Prescott Blog

Water is like gold in a desert.  Prescott - a desert?  You bet.

People who have lived in the West understand that our water is precious.  If you come from anywhere east of the Rockies, it may be hard at first to understand just how dry it is here.  You won't see grass growing all by itself and you may need to adjust to the color brown.  Your skin gets dry very quickly, too and a humidifier in the winter is a must.

So what are the water conditions here?  Is it safe to move here?

First of all, YES, it is safe to move here.  With that said, as a resident of a desert, you will need to concern yourself somewhat with water.  It is available, but allocating it fairly can sometimes be tricky.

Here are my interpretations of what is going on with water here, put in simple terms.  For more information, go to the Arizona Department of Water Resources at www.azwater.gov. 

Prescott and the surrounding areas are part of the Prescott Active Management Area (AMA).  There are three AMA's in Arizona.  They are areas of rapid growth where it has been determined that what comes out of the ground water must be put back in.  The region sits over some huge aquifers, notably the Little Chino and the Big Chino.  (You will find a lot of people, especially in the Chino Valley area, have wells that pump directly out of these aquifers, and some of them are real gushers.) 

The Prescott AMA has been out of "safe yield" for a few years now, and local municipalities are working to correct this problem.  (Safe yield is when more is being taken out of the aquifer than is coming back in.)  We have water for our present needs, but what about the future?  Besides various recharging efforts, Prescott and Prescott Valley are also starting a pipeline project to pump water from the Big Chino in an area that creates the headwaters to the Verde River and send it into Prescott and Prescott Valley.

But it isn't so simple.  Three entities may be severely affected by this pumping.  One is the Salt River Project which funnels water to Phoenix and has prior rights to the waters of the Verde.  Another are the communities along the Verde that rely on that water.  The third, and perhaps most important, is the river itself, which is fragile and could die if its headwaters are depleted.  We are preparing for what could be a very big fight over water in the near future.  Hopefully, the State will make a decision that benefits everyone.

What happens if Prescott and Prescott Valley can't get this water?  They may have to slow their growth a bit after about 2015 and/or look to other ways to conserve and replenish the water they are already using.  The water IS there - but they can't just take whatever they want.  It isn't allowed.

Are there any guarantees of water supply?  Arizona developers now have to guarantee a 100 year water supply for new development.

And there you have my take on Prescott's water.  Double check my information at the websites I've provided.  I've lived here all my life, but I'm learning new things every day!