The Chino Valley Town Council Thursday on a 6-0 vote approved an agreement with TerraMax to purchase property for a recharge site in the Big Chino Sub Basin in exchange for the town's Historically Irrigated Acres water rights on the site. Councilman Joel Baker was absent.
Jeffrey A. Dana, owner of TerraMax Development Group, said after the meeting that he entered the agreement with the town because "as a developer, I always need water. Water will be the driving force in the valley. Also, I'm always interested in benefiting the community."
Mark Holmes, Water Resources manager, told the council the four entities involved are the Town of Chino Valley, Big Chino Materials, Sunshine Concrete & Materials, and TerraMax Development Group. However, this agreement is just between the town and TerraMax.
"For nine years, the town has been looking for HIA water rights. Lately, it has been looking for a recharge site as well," he said.
HIA water rights, he said, are off acres of land irrigated between 1975 and 1990.
Holmes said TerraMax owns the 248-acre Knighthawk Ridge subdivision on the west side of Del Rio Springs.
The site the town is attempting to get TerraMax to buy for it is 74.4 acres next to the Drake Cement Plant, which is under construction, and 1 1/2 miles east of the town's proposed pumping location. He said it will enable the town to build 11 recharge basins on the site if its hydrology tests show the land will make a good recharge site. He said Sunshine Concrete & Materials has excavated three recharge basins.
Holmes said Montgomery and Associates's feasibility study showed the town should be able to recharge 12,000-20,000 acre feet of water into the ground a year.
Through this agreement with TerraMax, he said, the town will gain rights to 108 acre-feet of HIA water, of which half must be used in Chino Valley in the Prescott Active Management Area. The other half can be marketed anywhere within the AMA.
Holmes said TerraMax also must conform to the town's water conservation and sustainability plan.
TerraMax has 18 years to apply for one or more Certificates of Assured Water Supply based on the HIAs off this acreage. It also has the rights to market the HIA water rights to third-party developers for 20 years.
If the town's hydrology studies prove the site will make a good recharge site, Holmes expects the town to be discharging water into the recharge basins in two to three years.
He said this agreement is the culmination of 1 1/2 years of negotiations.
In other action, the council:
• Received no comments from the public during the public hearing on the Chino Valley Street Lighting Improvement District's 2009-2010 annual statement and estimates of expenses. Vera Smith, finance manager, said the costs for the three lighting districts would be: $1,711, Lighting District 1; $876, Lighting District 2; and $799, Lighting District 3a.
• Approved the financial report for 11 months ending May 31.
• Approved memorandum of understanding with Northern Arizona Council of Governments for $15,274 from the 2009-2010 voucher transportation system.
Reader Comments
Posted: Friday, July 17, 2009
Article comment by:
CBrooks
Another point missing is: what water is to be used in the recharge basins? Effluent?
Posted: Saturday, July 11, 2009
Article comment by:
No name provided
How do you construct a recharge basin in the middle of a floodway? And what good is it to the AMA to recharge water outside the AMA? Am I missing something here?
Posted: Saturday, July 11, 2009
Article comment by:
Karen Fann
Great job WaterMark! One point missing in the article: the purpose of Chino Valley securing this recharge site is to protect the water resources of the Big Chino, Paulden and the Verde River. It is important for Chino Valley to ensure any HIA waters imported to the AMA has NO negative impact in the Big Chino.
