The governor’s office announced Friday the “first-ever” approval to transport groundwater from the Harquahala Groundwater Basin.
PHOENIX — State officials have allowed the communities of Buckeye and Queen Creek to withdraw thousands of acre-feet of groundwater each year from a basin in a remote area of Maricopa County.
The governor’s office announced Friday the “first-ever” approval from Arizona’s water resources department to transport groundwater out of the Harquahala Groundwater Basin, located about 60 miles west of Phoenix.
The basin, which reportedly contains 8 million acre-feet of water, is located in the Harquahala Irrigation Non-Expansion Area, which was created in 1981. An INA is intended to preserve the existing irrigation of cultivated lands.
The agreement will allow Buckeye to withdraw 5,926 of acre-feet annually for up to 110 years and Queen Creek to withdraw 5,000 acre-feet annually for 110 years. The orders stipulate that the municipalities may apply to extend the 110-year period.
“The determinations find that the groundwater withdrawals will not cause unreasonably increasing damage to residents of surrounding land and other water users in the INA as the projected storage depletion in the transportation scenario is nearly identical and slightly less than the projected storage depletion in the ‘business as usual’ scenario,” the water department wrote in a statement.
One acre-foot of water is considered enough to serve three single-family homes for a year in Arizona.
According to the applications submitted by Buckeye and Queen Creek, the municipalities had apparently agreed to purchase a parcel of land within the Harquahala INA to meet the state’s legal requirements for transporting groundwater.
A couple of years ago, 12News reported on how communities in the West Valley were projected to fall short by about 15% for the amount of water they’ll eventually need in the future.
The mayors of Buckeye and Queen Creek said in statements that the transported groundwater will help diversify the water portfolios of their respective communities.
“This is a significant development for the city of Buckeye to ensure our current and future residents continue enjoying a great quality of life,” Buckeye Mayor Eric Orsborn said in a statement.
The governor’s office indicated that the transportation order for Buckeye and Queen Creek will open the door for the Arizona State Land Department to participate in future water transportation.
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