Prescott Valley is unable to sustain our water supply
The week of October 8th 2006, John Munderloh, Water Resourse Director, informed me PV cannot reach “Safe Yield” without importing additional water. Safe Yield, or the balance between water removed from the earth and what new water is supplied by nature is a state requirement by 2025.
As a PV councilman, I voted against the Prescott IGA (inner government agreement) to buy the Big Chino Ranch as it is now called. I did so because there was no provision requiring the imported water be used to insure our water supply. Current plans require all “new” water be sold to developers for new homes (12,000). Thus, only “recharged waste water” could be utilized for meeting safe yield.
Receintly, Mayor Skoog and the council voted 7-0 to “sell” our current wast water credits (allowed by the state) to developers to build more homes and the sale proceeds used to pay for PV’s share (46.8%) of the Big Chino project. This vote followed a previous vote(7-0) to raise our water and sewer rates 30%.
As of May 7th, no water auction has been anounced. Most likely this is due to the slump in housing sales that is damaging PV town income. however, financial requirements for PV’s part of the Big Chino Project must come from somewhere. Current payments are coming from town bonding authority.