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I found 262 listings (sold, active, expired, withdrawn), in the Prescott Area MLS that report hauled water.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.
6 comments:
A very interesting round-up. Most Prescottonians know absolutely nothing about that really vast Juniper Woods subdivision surrounding Ashfork. What surprised me was that the area, which was checkerboard when my late husband & I were exploring here and there, now shows as entirely private property. I wonder if the state actually got money from someone for all that dry land. There are similar big (and old) 40-acre, haul water type subdivisions up around Seligman. I have heard that the wells in the Forbing Park area are dropping.
I've read that that the private water company in Wilhoit was having to haul water. I don't know what their current status is.
We're in Forbing Park. A number of wells have gone dry here, and ours is more depleted each year.
Our well is at least 100 years old, and reputedly on an underground stream rather than the same aquifer that lies beneath Williamson Valley. Of course, if it is an underground stream, it fed some aquifer so we may be vulnerable to lawsuit.
grannyj, I think you're speaking of grazing land which was the state government leased to ranchers. If you look at a recreational atlas it shows the checkerboard pattern of state and private land. At least north and south of I-40 along Seligman near Bridge Country Estates:
http://mapserver.co.yavapai.az.us/interactive/map.asp
The recreational 40 acre parcels are still being sold. There was an increase around Y2K as people feared for the worst. Prices dropped after the world kept ticking along.
Regarding Forbing Park, I can't say I'd heard that. It looks like there are 123 separate lots in there. I wonder how many it takes to get city water. It's not actually in the city, but neither is Wildwood Estates and we have city water and sewer. Of course, the cost to homeowners may not be appealing. Did they increase any lines in Iron Springs Rd during this constructrion just in case? Thanks for putting that on my list.
A 100 year old well which is now showing signs of depletion is concerning. I think there's a metephor in there somewhere.
I also hadn't heard about Wilhoit, which as I recall, is the Thunderbird Meadows Water. Not to be confused with the Wilhoit Water Co in Chino. Here's the trouble there: http://www.allamericanpatriots.com/node/17363
Not sure what the solution was on that issue.
I really appreciate the response.
Actually, I was looking at a map in one of the county buildings that showed the 40 acre area around Ashfork to be private land now.
As for Wilhoit, I own a piece of property there. On the east side of SR89, the water supplier is indeed the Wilhoit water company; water is piped throughout the subdivision The Thunderbird Meadows wells serve the west side -- and, as I recall, it was a source for hauling water only. At one point, the wilhoit Water co. (same outfit, BTW) was buying from Thunderbird Meadows.
This is the third mill. Wake up. There is plenty of water underground in Seligman and Bridge Canyon. One may have to drill deeper in different spots to find it.Drilling six holes instead of one hole one would only have to drill around 50' (less)for each hole. Find the water and people are afraid of a public water service that will charge a special excise tax due to scarce water to each resident. Prove their wrong and find the water. Got a stick to find the water or a water dowser or ...?
This is the third mill. Wake up. There is plenty of water underground in Seligman and Bridge Canyon. One may have to drill deeper in different spots to find it.Drilling six holes instead of one hole one would only have to drill around 50' (less)for each hole. Find the water and people are afraid of a public water service that will charge a special excise tax due to scarce water to each resident. Prove their wrong and find the water. Got a stick to find the water or a water dowser or ...?
Post a Comment