Buckeye Mayor speaks on ground water report

By Frank Espinoza
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The city of Buckeye, one of the fastest growing communities in the U.S., was hit with a report by the Arizona Department of Water Resources earlier this year that gave some alarming data on the nearby groundwater the city uses as one of its main water sources.

The report showed a 100-year projection looking at the lower Hassayampa subbasin, from which the city gets nearly all of its water.

The subbasin is predicted to be short of 4.4 million acre-feet to meet projected pumping demand, several areas where groundwater will hit bedrock and water level declines ranging from 0 to 983 feet.

The Hassayampa subbasin covers a huge area of hundreds of square miles west of the White Tank Mountains.

Buckeye Mayor Eric Orsborn took time on Tuesday to speak with the Daily Independent to address this report and future groundwater issues for the city.

Orsborn said he had no idea what was in the report until it was released to the public, but he was adamant to work further with the ADWR and other organizations to help get Buckeye on track for water conservation and sustainability.

“We were happy to get that report and its a great starting point for us, it takes a very static look at the basin and groundwater management and I think from that perspective it's what we expect if we don’t change the way we manage the basin then we’ll have water issues in 100 years,” Orsborn said.

He stated the basin is important to the city and even surrounding areas as it provides much of the water source in that area.

Being built in that area is the Teravalis housing development, one of the biggest housing developments in the U.S. from The Howard Hughes Corp., which will bring in new housing developments with 100,000 homes planned on 37,000 acres to accommodate 300,000 residents.

Orsborn stated all developments like Teravalis must be able to bring in their own water resource. He told the Independent  each development needs to acquire a certificate of assured water supply which guarantees 100 years worth of water for that specific development — he stated they receive this from ADWR.

Since the report was released, the city of Buckeye announced they had purchased a 1-acre parcel of land in the Harquahala Valley. Orsborn stated this allows the city to expand its water portfolio with a new water source. The property includes an annual allocation of 5,926 acre-feet of water over a guaranteed 100 years. This agreement was the first major purchase in several years that expands the city’s water portfolio.

This purchase came from $80 million in bonds in the fiscal year 2022-23 to purchase new water resources that are not part of the Colorado River allocation.

Orsborn stated he hopes more news of this kind will continue as they hope to acquire more water portfolios for the city.

Buying up more land with water isn’t Buckeye’s only plan,. When speaking on water conservation the mayor said the city will do more and it might change the way the city looks.

“The last couple years we implemented conservation codes so what were tying to get away from is the big expanses of grass areas, dialing back on the landscape and the water use outside within the city of Buckeye...and then deals a little bit with the appliances inside — the residents making sure they were using low water use appliances and fixtures,” Orsborn said.

He stated the city reuses its water, which is estimated to be 2,500 acre feet per year or nearly 25% of the yearly total amount of used water in the city.

Speaking in the report, Orsborn said Buckeye for years has tried to acquire new water resources, implement conservation codes and recycle water,

“Buckeye’s water resource is secured and we’re working really hard with smart people to implement a portfolio moving forward that helps with the growth we have,” Orsborn said.

He said to his knowledge, planned and future developments will not be impacted by water issues.

Frank Espinoza
Reporter | Daily Independent

fespinoza@iniusa.org

Frank Espinoza is a recent graduate of Northern Arizona University from the beginning of 2022. He prides himself on covering topics that give a spotlight to individuals or groups who give back to the community. He has covered local sports, community events, and important issues that impact the state. In his spare time, he loves to watch Street League Skateboarding and hang out at Cowtown Skateboards in Goodyear.