Ash Fork Remote Land Questions

[crazyjae]

Originally Posted by DellNec

Aquifers are regional, so Phoenix will never be able to take the water from those aquifers.

Think of aquifers as large bodies of lakes underneath the earth. Some are "sealed" so little to no new water adds to the water tables, others are dependent on rain water to replenish them.

Paulden sits on top of the Big Chino Aquifer. That aquifer will be drilled and tapped by the city of Prescott. Once they start pumping water out of it, the Verde River will begin to dry up in the Prescott area. The Verde River relies on the BC Aquifer to keep it running.

Phoenix not being able to take water from the aquifers up here? Three words: Salt River Project.

SRP uses water from the Verde River which has its headwaters in the Big Chino Aquifer. Its projected that when Prescott starts lowering that water table due to its pumping, the Verde will suffer and Phoenix won't be getting the water it relies upon from it.

[magnum0417]

Originally Posted by crazyjae

Phoenix not being able to take water from the aquifers up here? Three words: Salt River Project.

SRP uses water from the Verde River which has its headwaters in the Big Chino Aquifer. Its projected that when Prescott starts lowering that water table due to its pumping, the Verde will suffer and Phoenix won't be getting the water it relies upon from it.

Verde River's mouth is in Fountain Hills which is south of Saguaro Lake which is the first of 4 lakes upstream on the Salt River. Outside of local aquifers, the bulk water comes from the Mogollon Rim where the streams feed into Roosevelt Lake which then feeds into Apache,Canyon and Saguaro. Phoenix is in far better shape than Vegas and Tucson thanks to the Mogollon Rim. Now if we keep having absurdly dry winters like this year, stay tuned. However, the Mogollon usually fetches significant rain and snow during the winter and monsoon seasons keeping the SRP Lakes at sustainable levels .

Verde River's source is in Paulden and it's awesome looking east to see Sedona from US 89. Are they going to finally get that bridge done south of Paulden ? This one lane crossing at that bridge is getting annoying .

[crazyjae]

Originally Posted by magnum0417

Verde River's mouth is in Fountain Hills which is south of Saguaro Lake which is the first of 4 lakes upstream on the Salt River. Outside of local aquifers, the bulk water comes from the Mogollon Rim where the streams feed into Roosevelt Lake which then feeds into Apache,Canyon and Saguaro. Phoenix is in far better shape than Vegas and Tucson thanks to the Mogollon Rim. Now if we keep having absurdly dry winters like this year, stay tuned. However, the Mogollon usually fetches significant rain and snow during the winter and monsoon seasons keeping the SRP Lakes at sustainable levels .

Verde River's source is in Paulden and it's awesome looking east to see Sedona from US 89. Are they going to finally get that bridge done south of Paulden ? This one lane crossing at that bridge is getting annoying .

Not sure about the bridge. It seems like it's taking forever. It's crazy that they could start the other bridge south of that one by the old Territorial State Capital at Del Rio Springs a few weeks later and finish it in what appears to be a few months earlier. Of course I dread the day when they start construction on Hells Canyon bridge again.

Williams is in a bit of a pickle with SRP. Most of the city's wells are south of town and just inside SRP's designated area. They are running out of water quickly and now are asking SRP to allow them to pump additional water from the wells, as SRP has a cap on what Williams can pump. Unfortunately (depending on what part of the State you are in) SRP has a major claim to water in the Big Chino Watershed, in Paulden which includes everything South of Williams and the Verde Valley as well. It seems that a good portion of the water in the Prescott area belongs to Phoenix.