ARIZONA DAILY STAR: Tues., May 29, 2007
OV, Marana looking for water solutions
By Aaron Mackey
When it comes to groundwater on the Northwest Side, it's a tale of two towns. Underground water levels in Oro Valley are dropping at an average rate of 5.6 feet a year, while the water table in Marana is rising 10 feet annually.
The decline of farming in Marana, coupled with efforts to artificially replace underground water, has created the resurgence in Marana. Oro Valley, which relies heavily on annual rainfall to replenish its groundwater, can't pipe in renewable water and recharge its wells as easily as Marana.
With well levels continuing to decline in Oro Valley, officials are hoping to stave off losses by treating outside water and sending it directly to customers rather than having it refill underground wells. But doing so would cost the town an estimated $120 million. Marana will continue to use outside sources, such as CAP water, to increase groundwater levels, but officials caution that groundwater alone won't be enough to handle growth.
Despite the different situations the towns face, officials in Marana and Oro Valley both agreed that long-term renewable water is needed to provide for area build-out that is expected to climb above 200,000 people. That is more than double the current population of the two towns combined. And it's going to cost residents, in the form of new fees and possibly higher taxes.
"The days of cheap water are going to be gone," said Brad DeSpain, Marana's utilities director.
To start, officials plan to build a CAP storage and treatment facility near I-10 and Tangerine Road that could cost the region $225 million. Other alternatives need to be explored as well.
The high cost of the facility — which officials plan to pay for by levying fees on new homes — is only the beginning of future dramatic cost increases, officials and water experts said, as water becomes more scarce in the desert.
FULL STORY: http://www.azstarnet.com/allheadlines/185123