Water Awareness Month: Queen Creek’s 10-year journey

OPINION — Water to cook.

Water to clean.

Water to brush your teeth.

Water to shower.

Water to play — and stay cool!

And most importantly, water to drink.

I can’t overstate the importance of water.

At the April 1 town council meeting, we issued a proclamation recognizing April as Water Awareness Month. Established by the Arizona Department of Water Resources, Water Awareness Month is a time to focus on a resource that we all depend on. The WAM website launched in 2011 — just one year after I was elected to the Queen Creek Town Council. A lot has changed since then; I proudly serve as mayor of this amazing community, and I know a lot more about water than I would have predicted back in 2010.

Queen Creek’s journey to become water self-sufficient began over a decade ago. We were actively working to diversify our water portfolio — reducing reliance on local groundwater — the primary source of water at the time for Queen Creek and seeking sources that were less susceptible to drought conditions.

In 2018, the council purchased groundwater extinguishments credits (credits that can be used for replenishing groundwater), initiated opportunities for two alternative supplies (Cibola and Harquahala), and implemented a policy to offset Central Arizona Groundwater Replenishment District assessments for Queen Creek water customers as an interim solution (and expanded the policy in 2019 to apply offsets at the highest allowable rate). This has saved the majority of our customers a total of $58 million since the policy was implemented. 

We began receiving Cibola water in 2023 and phase one of Harquahala was approved in 2025, providing a proof-of-concept for this drought-proof source of water. In late 2025, we began the process to secure phase two of Harquahala, making 90% of the Town’s water supply drought-proof and only 6% reliant on local groundwater.

All of these efforts over the last decade directly align with our water self-sufficiency goal to secure a more reliable and locally controlled water future:

• Reduce local groundwater pumping for current customers
• Move customers away from CAGRD, which has historically gone up and is projected to continue to increase
• Own a water portfolio with 100-year assets that are less susceptible to drought conditions
• Ensure more stable costs for customers
• Become a designated water provider

Throughout the month of April, I will be breaking down these topics in more detail, sharing how they benefit our water customers today, and more importantly, for generations to come.

Julia Wheatley is the mayor of Queen Creek. Please send your comments about this article to AzOpinions@iniusa.org. We are committed to publishing a wide variety of reader opinions, as long as they meet our Civility Guidelines.