Cave Creek and Peoria Collaborate to Secure Water Amid Colorado River Cuts
Amid looming reductions in Colorado River water supply, the town of Cave Creek is moving forward with a strategic water-sharing agreement with Peoria. This pact aims to bolster water security by leveraging the Central Arizona Project (CAP) canal system, which is a crucial source for Cave Creek’s water needs.
Cave Creek relies heavily on the Colorado River, sourcing nearly all of its water from this river via the CAP system. To compensate for potential shortages, Cave Creek has arranged for Peoria to use a portion of its stored water in exchange for some of Peoria’s CAP allocation.
The arrangement received approval from the Peoria City Council and awaits a vote from the Cave Creek Town Council on June 23. “It gives us a lot of security for the next few years in order for us to evaluate and find the next long-term water resources for the town. You know, having these in place is a huge thing, and we’ve been working on it as staff and our consultant team for over two years now to get to this point,” stated Shawn Kreuzwiesner, Director of Cave Creek Utilities.
Kreuzwiesner mentioned that Cave Creek is planning a similar intergovernmental agreement with Surprise, inspired by the Peoria model. He anticipates these types of agreements will become more prevalent. “A lot of municipalities and other water companies, they can’t recharge or they’ve got their storage credits in other facilities where they don’t have direct access to. So, I think we’re going to see more and more of these as they move forward,” he explained. “We’re just so happy and grateful that Peoria was willing to work with us.”
David Burks, Peoria Water Services Director, noted that this agreement was crafted following a similar arrangement that Peoria has with Tucson, where Peoria stores long-term water credits. Cave Creek sources approximately 95% of its water from the Colorado River, significantly more than Peoria, which gets around 60% due to its diverse water sources.
“The sole intent for this agreement is to help Cave Creek bridge their gap in order to get wells drilled and online. It’s not a guarantee they’re going to need the water from us, but we will be a source for them, if needed, based on the amount of cuts,” Burks added.
The water exchange is capped at 450 acre-feet of CAP water annually, enough to supply about three single-family homes for a year. The agreement is set to remain in place until 2033, though Peoria can withdraw if state water cuts are severe.
“We feel if one city has a problem, we all have a problem. So, we feel like we’re going to tackle it together and help who needs help to the best that we can,” Burks emphasized. The agreement also enhances Peoria’s groundwater resources, which Burks described as a valuable commodity. “Groundwater is not really considered a renewable source,” Burks remarked. “So, we hold tight to our groundwater. The surface water is renewable, and so the value is stronger with the groundwater versus the surface water.”
Beyond this agreement, Cave Creek is advancing projects to connect with Phoenix’s water distribution system and potentially source new water from the Salt River Project by raising the Bartlett Dam. Kreuzwiesner assured that these initiatives have been budgeted and should not significantly impact water rates. “We consider this a bridge solution for us. It’s allowing us to bridge to a long-term water solution — new long-term water solutions. Again, it’s a finite amount of water because it’s basically the water that we’ve recharged and put into the ground and created a checking account for the town. Now we’re withdrawing from that checking account,” he elucidated.
—
Read More Arizona News
