Water Commitments in the PrAMA and implications for the upper Verde and upper Agua Fria Rivers

The cities of Prescott, Prescott Valley, and the town of Chino Valley, commonly referred to as the Tri-Cities, currently rely almost exclusively on ground water from the Prescott Active Management Area (Prescott AMA) for their domestic water supply (fig.1). The Prescott AMA is also a source of water for agricultural use. At the present time, the AMA is being seriously over-pumped and has been for a number of years. Over-pumping has caused ground-water levels to continually decline in most of the Prescott AMA and has led to a continuing decline in the amount of water that naturally discharges from it to Del Rio Springs (water that once discharged to the upper Verde River), to the ground-water system of Big Chino Valley (which, in turn, discharges to the upper Verde River) and to the upper Agua Fria River. Ultimately, the amount of ground water that can be withdrawn from the Prescott AMA must be seriously reduced in order to be able to continue to withdraw water from it on a long-term continuing basis. Otherwise, someday, there will be no water.
By Ed Wolfe and William Meyer. View Document.