VRCA's Position Paper Chino Basin 2007

At present groundwater overdraft is drawing down the Little Chino aquifer in the Prescott Active Management Area (PrAMA). Scientific data indicates that this overdraft is diminishing the flow of springs which contribute source water to the Verde River (for example, the depletion of Del Rio Springs). In the headwaters of the Verde, the threat to surface water flows increases as groundwater pumping in the PrAMA grows.

The City of Prescott is preparing to construct a pipeline to deliver approximately 8,700 acre-ft of groundwater annually from the Big Chino aquifer to the Tri-Cities area. Recent reports by the USGS have clearly demonstrated that the water Prescott plans to withdraw would discharge naturally into the upper Verde River. These studies indicate that about 80 percent of the base flow in the first 24 miles of the Verde comes from the Big Chino aquifer. Nonetheless, Prescott officials assert that the proposed pipeline will not impact the base flow of the Verde. They publicly claim there is nothing to mitigate, while supplying no viable scientific information to support the claim.

Given the overwhelming scientific information that pumpage will impact the base flow of the river, the Verde River Citizens Alliance contends that the withdrawal and diversion of water from the aquifer will cause serious damage to the ecosystem and economy along the upper and middle Verde. The VRCA is concerned that as the population of the Prescott area continues to grow, it will rely more heavily on water withdrawn from the Big Chino aquifer. The obvious result of this increased reliance will be the extreme depletion of the base flow in the upper Verde. Even if, at some point, pumping were to cease, severe environmental damage would be likely, and never be fully repairable. The VRCA believes that it is critically important to prevent such environmental destruction.

The base flow of the Verde River sustains all life in the riparian area. This flow should be managed for the long-term protection of the river and associated ecosystem. Additionally, export of groundwater from the Verde River source should be held to a standard that protects longstanding, existing rights of downstream water users. Inevitably, any diminished flow in the river will result in numerous lawsuits from downstream water users with senior water rights, such as ditch associations and SRP.

It is the position of the VRCA that the City of Prescott must demonstrate scientifically, either, (1) that its pumping will have no detrimental effect on the Verde River flows and ecology; or, (2) that it has developed and is committed to fulfill a comprehensive mitigation plan to immediately offset any detrimental consequence to the river caused by extraction and exportation of ground water from the Big Chino aquifer. Such a plan would include an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) done in conjunction with the AZ Dept. of Environmental Quality, the US Environmental Protection Agency and the US Fish and Wildlife Service. Pumping from Prescott's Big Chino Water Ranch must not be permitted until one or the other of these conditions has been met.

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