2019-07-27 Four cities, some neighbors, one aquifer: a cautionary tale

A metaphor: Visualize a small group of hikers, lost in the desert with their only water source an open basin of water. They welcome additional stragglers, thinking greater numbers are good. They all hope for replenishing rain. Some rain comes at times but never enough to provide an assured long-term water supply. The end of the tale is painful.

Groundwater from the Prescott Active Management Area (PrAMA) is our major source of water, supporting the needs of the citizens of Prescott, Prescott Valley, Chino Valley, Dewey-Humboldt and unincorporated parts of the PrAMA. This groundwater supplied 82 percent of the water consumed within the PrAMA in 2012, the latest year for which we have data. We are dependent on our groundwater, and we are pumping too much. We are in the process of draining our aquifer.