| Historic Pipeline Progress Underway |
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| Written by Lauren Millette | |
| Wednesday, 13 August 2008 | |
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The two City Clerks took notes during the historic joint meeting between the City of Prescott and Prescott Valley.A major step toward bringing in enough water for future generations in the greater Prescott area is right around the corner. Prescott and Prescott Valley leaders have anxiously awaited approval of the Assured Water Supply Certificate application from the Arizona Department of Water Resources necessary to begin building a pipeline to import water northwest of Paulden from the Big Chino aquifer. Roughly a year after Prescott Water Resource Manager Jim Holt started jumping through the required hoops for certification, council members and key staff from both communities met with consultants in their first joint council workshop Tuesday afternoon at the Hassayampa Inn to discuss progress on the application. They were thrilled with news from legal consultant Michael Pearce of Maguire and Pearce to hear approval of the certificate is expected by August 22nd. Taking a historic stepPrescott Valley Town Manager Larry Tarkowski summarized how significant the joint collaboration and information explained by Prescott and Prescott Valley water resource managers and legal consultants at the meeting is, stating, “This is the first time we’ve had a joint meeting on this water issue and I want to congratulate staff and our legal consultants for all their hard work and recognize that this is one of the most important decisions to be made in this area’s history. 
Prescott Valley Town Manager Larry Tarkowski.“Future generations are going to applaud this project that will assure enough water for future generations. I believe we’re the only AMA (Active Management Area) in the state taking steps to reach safe yield and realize we can get there but it’s not easy.” Every elected official at the table agreed with Tarkowski and emphasized how monumental it is for them to work together to bring water into the Prescott AMA in meeting the demands of growth and economic vitality. "There is no greater responsibility as an elected official than to assure our communities of adequate water supplies in the future," stated Prescott Councilman Bob Roecker. Prescott Mayor Jack Wilson said, “I’d like to thank the staff who worked on this and made this happen. We’re on the right track. There are going to be questions forever but we have to move forward.” Prescott Councilman Jim Lamerson said he was pleased as well but reminded staff how crucial it is to work with other surrounding communities and warned staff and the consultants he will continue to keep a close eye on their progress and this week’s promising news is just the foundation for work they have ahead. “I, too, appreciate what Mr. Tarkowski said but want to remind you our friends in Chino Valley and Dewey-Humboldt matter too. They are not our enemies. The pressure’s on! We really do want to see the letter from ADWR and have the ability to go out and get water. Today was some pretty good news. I’m feeling a little bit better but that doesn’t mean we are going to take your feet out of the fire,” he said. 
Big Chino Water Ranch Mamager Jim Holt makes his presentation before the two city councils.Big Chino Water Ranch Manager and former Prescott AMA Director for ADWR Jim Holt also announced 95 percent of engineering design for the 30-mile pipeline is complete and 95 percent of the land owners have been contacted regarding acquiring easements for the pipeline to be built. Where do we go from here?Holt told Prescott eNews he has worked closely with ADWR officials over the last 10 months to fine-tune the application to their specifications so he is confident they will “declare the application complete, accurate and suitable for public comment.” If they do, the public will have 60 days to comment on the application for Assured Water Supply. Then ADWR administrators will review the comments for two or three months before making a final decision. Updating CouncilPresentations were made at the joint workshop Tuesday by legal consultants Michael Maguire, retired chief counsel for ADWR; his business partner Rita Maguire, retired ADWR Director; and Norm James of the Fennemore Craig firm, also the former director for Natural Resources and Environmental Law. Their presentations covered a variety of areas, including:
Will threats of litigation halt the process?James said he anticipates ADWR officials will approve the Assured Water Supply certificate application despite threats of litigation. He said he was retained by the City of Prescott in February 2005 after the Center for Biological Diversity filed an intent to sue Prescott and Prescott Valley for violating federal law specified in Incidental Take Permit (ITP) regulations and for failing to compile a Habitat Conservation Plan. 
Attorney Norm James from the Fennemore Craig law firm.James said he has determined the plan is not necessary because the National Environmental Policy Act only applies to federal agencies and importing water from the Big Chino Sub-basin does not harm endangered species or fall under ITP violations. These things considered, James says he does not expect to see a lawsuit filed by the Center for Biological Diversity. Prescott Valley Mayor Harvey Skoog noted many folks downstream of the importation base have chastised elected officials in the greater Prescott area for years for attempting to damage the Verde River ecosystem by importing water. He reassured the public as he emphasized, “There will be no damage to the Verde River that we cause.” Prescott Valley Water Resource Manager John Munderloh said, "The communities have spent millions of dollars to avoid impact to the Upper Verde River by moving the pumping site to the Big Chino Water Ranch," "This location is 20 miles away from the springs that contribute to the dry-season flow in the Upper Verde." Munderloh also noted water use in the area over the past century indicates importing water from the area will not take a toll on the Verde River. "Farmers have pumped groundwater from the Big Chino Water Ranch area for nearly 70 years without impacting the Verde River or causing notable declines in the local groundwater table." As far as litigation involving Salt River Project (SRP) goes, Holt and the legal consultants told council members they have a pact with SRP officials not to publicly disclose where they are in negotiations at this time to avoid court action. What funding mechanism will be used to build the pipeline?Prescott City Manager Steve Norwood reports nearly 35 million dollars have been spent so far on the pipeline project and it looks like it will cost roughly 171 million dollars by the time the project is finished. 
Prescott City Manager Steve Norwood.Prescott and Prescott Valley council members have asked staff for several years where they plan to get the money to pay for it. Two ideas are being considered at this point. Norwood said Prescott is in a position to call for a revenue bond at interest rates cheaper than most municipalities could get. However, he said it is important for council to look at other options to determine the most prudent avenue to take. Prescott Valley Town Manager Larry Tarkowski is suggesting a public/private partnership could be the most cost effective route. They suggested staff work with Prescott resident John Sellers, who has a strong international equity background, and report back to the joint council body in January with a list of options for further discussion. This pleased council members, who directed them to follow through with their plans. Prescott Valley Mayor Harvey Skoog said, "As decisions makers, we appreciate having options available to us, especially options that combine sound planning with fiscal responsibility to the residents in our communities." How did we get to this point?In January 1999, ADWR officials declared the Prescott AMA was no longer at safe-yield. This triggered full implementation of the Assured Water Supply Rules, requiring only renewable or imported water supplies from outside the Prescott AMA be used for new subdivisions within the AMA. Since then, the two communities joined forces to purchase the Big Chino Water Ranch, conduct local hydrologic investigations, design a pipeline (including pumping stations) and acquire easements. Prescott and Prescott Valley created a partnership in December 2004 with the mission of importing water from the Big Chino Sub-basin northwest of Paulden. This effort was initiated pursuant to authority granted in Arizona Revised Statute 45-555, which authorizes Prescott and Prescott-area municipalities to import water from the Big Chino Sub-basin to reach safe yield. "In 1980, the Arizona Legislature passed the Groundwater Management Act which imposes stiff water use regulations in several key regions of the state, including the Prescott Active Management Area," reported legal consultant Rita Maguire. She further stated Phoenix and Tucson are served by large federal reclamation projects which import water to central Arizona, and "The Prescott-area communities did not have access to other water resources to help them reduce their groundwater dependency and meet the new regulations. So the legislature provided some relief in 1991 when it passed A.R.S. 45-555." The City of Prescott is a 55% partner and the Town of Prescott Valley a 45% partner in water from the BCR. The communities intend to develop the infrastructure necessary to transport groundwater from the Big Chino Sub-basin for use inside the Prescott AMA by July 2009. Chino Valley officials have opted out of joining the partnership up to this point due to the cost involved and the small community’s limited budget. However, the door has not been closed on the deal yet and Chino Valley leaders and key staff continue to meet with Prescott and Prescott Valley officials to discuss possibly coming on line in the future. According to the City of Prescott’s website: The Big Chino Ranch (BCR) is comprised of 4,582.1 acres of deeded lands and 1,948.6 acres of Arizona State Land in Yavapai County and the Big Chino Ranch Project is comprised of four major tasks: 1. BCR environmental assessment and remediation 2. Well field development and Ranch Management Plan 3. Transmission pipeline and associated storage & pumping infrastructure 4. Installation of monitoring wells to gauge the potential impacts of the withdrawal and transportation of groundwater from the Big Chino Ranch Design and construction of the BCR pipeline is being phased as follows:
The 30 mile pipeline from the BCR Ranch to Paulden and from Paulden to Chino Valley, Arizona, is currently sized to transport up to 12,400 acre-feet of groundwater per year.
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  written by Jerry S., August 14, 2008
That's good news (and an excellent explanation by newly acquired Lauren!). There will be no lawsuits on this I bet. Coming up with 50 mil will not be easy however. I know "we'll cross that bridge....." but the bridge is now in view. Development fees won't help much (what development?), so I suspect water utility rates will have to increase.
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written by Brian Biggs, August 14, 2008
Great article! Very thorough reporting.
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