Peoria renews 100-year designation of assured water supply

By Philip Haldiman
Mail | X: @PhilipHaldiman

Peoria has seen expansive growth during the past two decades. And with the near constant statewide concerns about water shortages in recent years, some residents have wondered if the city has enough water supply to continue its growth.

But making sure the city has water for years into the future is an ongoing point of attention for members of Peoria’s Water Services Department, as regulated through the state-mandated 100-year Designation of Assured Water Supply.

Staff has worked on its application to renew and extend its existing certification, proving the city has enough water to outweigh the demand of future development.

Earlier this month, city council approved a resolution authorizing the city manager to sign the application. The deadline to submit the application to Arizona Department of Water Resources is Dec. 31.

Peoria Water Resources Advisor Brett Fleck said Peoria meets the 100-year required designation. He added that an active designation of assured water supply shows long-range planning, investment, maintains compliance and is necessary for the area to continue to grow.

“This designation is perhaps the most important way the city demonstrates its commitment to water security,” he said.

New Certification Shifts 100-Year Window

Peoria is near the end of its 15-year term of its current Designation of Assured Water Supply, issued in September 2010 and expiring Dec. 31, 2025.

This designation is designed to show the city can supply water to all existing users and all development projected through 2025 for at least 100-years from issuance of the Designation of Assured Water Supply in 2010.

The new certification will shift that 100-year window through 2125, covering all existing development as of 2025 plus development projected through 2040 for another 100-years from the issuance of that certification.

Fleck said the planning period is always 100 years.

A common misconception of the assured water program is that things fall apart in year 101. But the program requires continual modification and reproving at defined intervals so changes to supply and demand are taken into account. This is designed to provide enough reaction time to address challenges far out on the horizon, Fleck said.

“Peoria is in good shape for our next 10-year designation period and maybe beyond,” he said.

City Supply and Demand

Water Resources Policy Analyst Jenna Norris said when you boil the application down, it is a simple math equation.

“You need to make sure your supply outweighs your demand,” she said, adding it does in Peoria.

“Of course, that’s not by happenstance. It’s because we’ve been planning and preparing,” she said.

Peoria delivered 35,241 acre-feet of water in 2022. The portfolio included 29.7% from Salt River Project, 42.2% from the Central Arizona Project, 24.5% from wells and 3.5% reclaimed water.

For the application, demand and supply are separated for SRP lands, in southern Peoria and non-SRP lands in north Peoria. Norris said this is because SRP water is only legally allowed to be used on SRP land.

The future annual SRP on-project demand for 2035 is 12,115 acre-feet, and future annual off-project demand for 2035 is 43,570 acre-feet, according to city projections.

The future annual SRP on-project supply for 2035 is 15,400 acre-feet, and future annual off-project supply for 2035 is 46,000 acre-feet, according to city projections.

These are realistic estimates, Norris said.

“We are prepared to successfully apply for a modification of designation,” she said. “We believe we can demonstrate we have the physical, legal and continuous availability of renewable supply for at least 100 years to meet the city’s demands in 2035.”

An acre-foot, or about 326,000 gallons, is the volume of water that would cover one acre to a depth of one foot. The unit is commonly used to measure large volumes of water, and one acre-foot is about enough water to supply three average homes for a year.

A Historic Law

The Assured Water Supply and Adequate Water Supply programs were developed as part of the historic 1980 Groundwater Management Act, which was created in response to rapidly declining Valley groundwater levels, the product of overmining for agricultural demand, which led to land subsidence and other concerns, Norris said.

No other state’s water-supply requirements at the time came close to creating long-term water certainty for residents, according to ADWR.

After the law, water use shifted away from groundwater to renewable supplies or if groundwater, then assurance it would be replenished with renewable supply.

Decades later, after expansive growth, the state’s total water use has declined. Today, Arizona uses less than 7 million acre-feet of water per year, 3% less than users consumed almost 60 years ago, according to ADWR.

Norris said today the most populous areas of Arizona have the most robust water resource planning requirements in the West, and for the past 40 years the Groundwater Management Act has provided consumer protection, for not only Peoria residents, but also businesses. It continues to promote long-term supply planning.

“In fact the program is so important in Peoria that it was included in our Principles to Sound Water Management and it is required that we maintain that designation as part of that document, so Peoria residents can know the city is constantly projecting and planning, and most importantly, investing to be sure that we can continue to maintain this designation.”

The city is already planning for the next designation period, but more will be required over the coming decade, Fleck said.

“Given how long it takes for these things to come to fruition, we are often making decisions 10, 15, 20 years in advance of when they are actually needed,” he said. “So as long as we keep planning far ahead and investing when necessary, Peoria’s water supply will remain secure.”

Philip Haldiman can be reached at phaldiman@iniusa.org, or on Twitter @philiphaldiman. We’d like to invite our readers to submit their civil comments, pro or con, on this issue. Email AZOpinions@iniusa.org.

Philip Haldiman
Senior News Editor | Peoria

phaldiman@iniusa.org

Meet Philip
Haldiman is an award-winning journalist who most recently took first place for investigative reporting in 2023 from Arizona Newspapers Association. He joined Independent Newsmedia, Inc., USA, in 2015, covering Sun City West his first year. Since 2016, he has covered the city of Peoria. Prior to coming to INI, he was a reporter with The Arizona Republic for seven years, covering numerous cities throughout the Valley. Before that, he was a freelance writer.

Community: Haldiman spearheads the Peoria Independent Hometown Heroes Awards program, honoring local individuals and businesses that give back to the community. He has hosted local candidate forums over the years and is a member of the Society of Professional Journalists. Haldiman also served as a member of the Journalism Program Community Advisory Board at Glendale Community College. Outside journalism, Haldiman served as a member of the city of Peoria Complete Count Committee for the Census, 2019-2020. Lastly, he has served as a member of his HOA governing board since 2021.

Education: Arizona State University with a BA in Journalism and Mass Communications and a BA in Theater. 

Random Fact: Haldiman is a fourth-generation Arizonan as well as wrote and produced an autobiographical comic book about his time spent in Hollywood and his life as a cult film star.

Hobbies: He enjoys hiking Arizona’s mountainous landscapes and is currently working on a play for the stage.