Wineglass Acres / Paulden Water Company?

Here's a picture looking North from Big Chino Road about a mile after it turns to dirt. It's hard to believe this arid landscape camouflages such a huge cache of water.

Is anyone familiar with the plans to develop a water company in Paulden? In the course of work today, I was told by a homeowner that Wineglass Acres has a company/group looking to bring water to homes in the area. I was told that they are looking to secure an easement to run lines and are looking for feedback from current owners who may want to connect. I just wonder what the incentive would be to an existing homeowner who has an adequate well? Considering the cost of a well is likely $10,000-$15,000 out in this area, what would the benefit be? I thought there may be a high level of arsenic in the water, but was told it is within safe standards.

Also, where are the actual headwaters of the Verde? Where do you access it, or is it accessible? I've been to Headwaters Ranch area, so I assume it's somewhere back there. I noticed on the map that the Verde River and Granite Creek start around Sullivan Lake.

Finally, where is the site that the City of Prescott proposes to pump from? Next time I'm out there I'd like to feed my curiosity.

And Here's another picture of an abandoned property out Big Chino Road. It looks like the house may have burned down, the barn is in deferred repair, and the windmill is busted. Maybe there's a country song here. The pillars to left are chimneys where the house stood.

Profiled - Governor Janet Napolitano

I am profiling decision makers on my http://www.freshwaterfootprint.com/ and decided to start with our governor. I'm posting the blog for feedback and possible corrections and inconsistencies. I hate to sound like a pundit on things that I'm still learning. Here it is:





I'll start with a question: Has Arizona Governor Napolitano followed the basic recommendations of her "Drought Task Force?"

It's hard to follow every process that Gov. Napolitano may have a hand in, but she does have a long standing commitment to water conservation in Arizona. In her December 1, 2004 message following the task force findings, she stated that "We must do a better job of helping Arizona’s communities manage their water supply and develop strategies that will enable all citizens to reduce consumption." So, from a local viewpoint, why would the Prescott City Council discourage these types of strategies, such as lawn reduction? Maybe part of the Governors policy making needs to include a more stern and direct discussion with community leaders.

In her response she also planned to "create a culture of conservation." That's a broad vision that has certainly evolved in the three years that have passed. Let's hope it is also a natural discourse in our communities and individual psyches as we move further into drought conditions. The Arizona Department of Water Resources (ADWR ) has been the worthy conduit for many of the Governors water management and education policies.

Finally, there was a mention of creating a "Virtual Water University," which was essentially a co-op between the three state universities. The Arizona Water Institute looks like the result and actually includes participation with three state agencies as well, (Water Resources (ADWR), Environmental Quality (ADEQ), and Commerce (ADoC).

Overall, I'd say Governor Napolitano scores well. With her focus on climate change there will likely be more initiatives regarding our freshwater resources. With a 16% decrease in 2007 of water usage by State government, her message is certainly ongoing.

Website Up

I posted the website for FreshwaterFootprint . I'm really open for feedback as I continue to develop it. There are a few holes, but I will patch those as time allows. I'm working on content and hope to overhaul the site when I've compiled the pieces.

In the process of compiling information for my website I determined that I needed a better focus. I think my efforts will be best served to narrowed myself to the issues here in Yavapai County. The way I see it, I'm still a novice with water conservation and better stay close to home for now. Of course, it's an ongoing refinement subject to change-on-a-whim.

I went to the presentation with Carol Browner, the former EPA administrator, at the Prescott Public Library. Lot's of great things were discussed and it was pretty general regarding the issues. She was very accessible and answered many questions about global warming, nuclear power, and a few water issues, including the salination of fresh water. I'm not sure how much of an issue that is in our community. Soil and water saliniation appears to be a problem, based on this CIA World Factbook site. I couldn't find anything, based on a quick search, for our area. If anyone has information, please let me know. Maybe it's not something of great concern for us.

Water in Wilhoit

I just finished reading Doug Cook's Daily Courier article regarding the Wilhoit Water Company.

It helped bring me up to speed on the issue there. I was curious if there's any chance the water company will fail? There's a huge division regarding fees and, if it's operating at a loss, that seems like a possible scenario. Maybe there is some sort of performance requirement with the Arizona Corporation Commission. If not, who would inherit this problem? Obviously the homeowners will be impacted on some level. It doesn't sound like Walden Meadows Community Co-op can sustain the additional usage even if they wanted to help long term. I know that ACC encourages consolidation of smaller water companies - but is that an option here?

I wonder if a temporary surcharge would alleviate any of problem. Does the state provide any assistance to the $100,000 cost of a commercial well? Compound that with the operating loss and the huge back tax issue, it sure looks like the foreshadowing of a complete collapse.

UPDATE: I found a link to Water Infrastructure Finance Authority (WIFA) that may be a possible solution to the financing of the $100,000 well. Of course, it sounds like they may have to qualify for this as it is a low interest rate loan. I assume they have explored this option, but I wanted to share it.

Private Water vs. Public Water Use

We were discussing hauled water and the conversation took a natural turn to private water companies. I wonder if private water companies restrict usage differently than public municipalities? I would think they would. I noticed in the Daily Courier the council decided not to curtail water usage for landscape irrigation.

The article called the restrictions "heavy-handed." It seems like we are struggling to provide water to the community and here was a simple measure to manage usage. I want our community to be a beautiful place but I also want the future protected. When you think about where our water comes from and the expense of our future needs, it doesn't seem as "heavy-handed" in my mind. See the courier article here regarding the current cost of the Big Chino Pipeline. Also, considering that we are in an official drought, is this even responsible?

If you read the article there's a reference to the recently defeated annexation effort. It's being tied back to the impact fees the City had hoped to recoup from development. It seems like talking about abandoning the pipeline over costs and then not taking some stand on water usage is a contradiction of intention. Grandfathered rights would probably be an intelligent decision. I know, I know, it's the old "I got mine - now go away" mindset, but we have to start somewhere. New construction and development would be a reasonable place to implement policy changes. I think we pay now or we pay a lot more later. It's like Hubble's Law of the expanding universe in reverse; the closer we get to the future the faster it's coming at us. No doubt water is going to be more of a driving force in our political climate.

The New York Times had an article realted to water in the Southwest a few weeks ago which is among the best I've read so far.

I think people making decisions about our water future would be well served to read the article.
There is probably more than a whole blogs worth of information in the article and I'll probably be referring to to again.

Hauled Water

I've been wondering how many people are hauling water. If anyone knows of some statistical data, I'd be interested. Here's some of the basic information I've collected:

I found 262 listings (sold, active, expired, withdrawn), in the Prescott Area MLS that report hauled water. Some may be duplicated, but I was mostly interested in general groupings. Ashfork looks like the most typical area to find hauled water, including Juniperwood Ranch. Surprisingly, (or not), hauled water is fairly common in the Dewey area, primarily in the Blues Hills Farm area. I am personally familiar with one property which the owner decided to drill a well which ultimately produced about a 1/2 cup per minute. Note, I didn't say 1/2 gallon per minute, that's 1/2 cup. Even with a holding tank it seems like hauled water would've been the better option. I believe Blue Hills Farm has a community well where you can purchase water for hauling. I'm not sure what the current cost is.

Also, homes which are actually in Prescott and are generally located off of Old Black Canyon Highway behind the Stoneridge golf community may be subject to hauled water and falling water tables. Another property, the owner made multiple attempts and never did hit water. So, he bought a truck to haul his own. He actually purchases water from the city of Prescott to haul. The thing that surprised me when I contacted the city was that they will sell this water to anyone - no residency requirements. I suppose they would make some sort of judgement call if a tanker that read "Arrowhead" pulled up, but who knows. I didn't ask if there were any restrictions for commercial users.

I know of other properties on the west side of Chino Valley (Chino Heights area) with water problems. Chino is generally a good water area, but I guess it all depends on the underlying water table. I was told once that there are fissures in the rock which can either bring the water table up or down and a property can be poorly positioned above a rock formation. I'm not a geologist, so this needs some fact checking. Feel free to correct me here.

Needless to say this impacts a property adversely for a few reasons. One, the actual marketability. Typically, people don't want to haul water and will choose other homes with even a low yield well with a holding tank first. Second, lender's generally like conforming properties. They will accept hauled water in some cases, but it will require an appraiser who can quantify a hauled water adjustment, which is not a simple task. Additionally, they will require sales of other hauled water properties from the appraiser, which can prove impossible at times.

The benefit is their actual water footprint. People with hauled water must be very tuned into consumption and are constantly aware of usage issues. I really doubt there are many homes with hauled water sporting a conspicuous green lawn with trimmed hedges.

The big question is how many people will be hauling water as their wells run dry? Will they leave first. What will the options be? Private water companies? What will their rights be? Could water be denied to people as resources shrink and the costs skyrocket for municipalities?

Geez, we've got a lot of ground to cover.

Overwhelming Start

Okay, I get it... there's a ton of people tuning into water issues everywhere. It seems like I can't go a single day without some confirmation of the problem. Last night I was watching the Travel Channel as I eased into a restless nights sleep. The topic? The Colorado River. If you missed it and get the Travel Channel, here's the schedule. It's worth a watch. The Colorado River is the main player when it comes to water in the Southwest.

So I'm off to a bit of an overwhelming start. Besides being new to blogging, I need to catalogue the information in some coherent form. As I work on a meaningful depository of articles, blogs, documentaries, websites, etc., I realize how green I am. (Yes, pun intended). Right now I'm tracking these in a word document with the hope of posting each along with some editorial content, but that may not be realistic because it's coming faster than I can even assemble it. So maybe watch for a post of the list. I plan to include that in the website and add comments inside the blog.

The number of environmentally sensitive blogs is really taxing based on a narrow search. I'm not sure how this one will play out in the long run, but I guess you have to start somewhere. I'm open to suggestions for content and hope to roll it out over time.

Water In The Southwest

Well, I'm starting this blog as part of my own educational trek on the water issues related to the Southwest with an emphasis on Arizona. For whatever reason, water has been on my mind a lot lately. Not that it was ever in doubt that water was vital, but I'm amazed at what a limited resource it is. How limited? I'm not sure, but I'm working on it.

It seems that some new article or piece of information appears everyday on my small radar screen. Maybe I'm more tuned in now, or maybe it really does need my full attention. I created FreshWaterFootprint.com, (under development), as a one stop resource for water issue related to the American Southwest. This blog is an extension. Of course, I'll cover national and global information, but will narrow my scope to the issues that have an immediate impact on Arizona.

I'll post articles and sites I think will benefit this blog. The most important reason I'm creating this blog is so everyone can join in. So do!