By
The Associated Press
PRESCOTT - The battle lines in a festering water dispute in central Arizona's burgeoning Yavapai County couldn't have been drawn any clearer.
The fight centers around a plan pushed by Prescott Mayor Sam Steiger, who wants to pump water from the Big Chino aquifer to ensure supplies for the cities west of Mingus Mountain.
Opponents on the east side argue the pumping could endanger the Verde River, which some believe is supplied by the aquifer. One of the last running rivers in Arizona, the Verde flows past acres of rich farm land in the Verde Valley and continues south toward Phoenix into Bartlett and Horseshoe Lakes.
Cottonwood, Camp Verde, Clarkdale and others in the Verde Valley have unanimously voted to stand against the plan to build a pipeline from the aquifer to serve Prescott, Prescott Valley and Chino Valley until it's determined how the river could be affected.
Prescott isn't in danger of needing the water any time soon, but Yavapai County's growth has boomed by 42 percent in the last 10 years, according to U.S. Census Bureau data. Faced with that kind of growth, Prescott needs to guarantee an adequate water supply for the future, Steiger said.
Prescott Valley and Chino Valley also would benefit from the pumping under an agreement that would have them pay to build the pipeline in exchange for access to the water.
Leaders of the Verde Valley cities are concerned about the possible consequences.
One U.S. Geological Survey report shows that about 80 percent of the Verde River's headwaters originate from the Big Chino aquifer.
"If you transport water away ... it would probably affect the Verde River, and very quickly, too," said Winn Hjalmarson, a retired hydrologist who co-authored the report after more than 40 years of studying the river.
The debate also reaches beyond the confines of Yavapai County.
William Schrader, president of the Salt River Project, a Phoenix-area utility that has rights to Verde River water, recently sent a letter to the mayors of Prescott, Prescott Valley and Chino Valley citing the company's "growing concern and opposition" to the plan.
The Verde River also is home to endangered aquatic species and is a significant source of water for downstream Indian tribes who claim rights to the river, the letter says. If pumping were to begin, Roberts said SRP would closely monitor the effects on the Verde and might take legal action to have it stopped.
