It sounds like an expensive way to keep up with the demand for
more water, but the law and the geography left the city with
little choice. Prescott and more than 400 square miles of
Yavapai County were designated an "active management area" by
Arizona's 1980 Groundwater Management Act, which was meant to
protect groundwater reserves and prevent growth from
outstripping the available water supply. But 25 years later,
Prescott faced a rural-style water crisis in the making because
it lacked what the other management areas had: water.
Specifically, renewable sources from rivers or streams.
Maricopa, Pinal and Pima counties can tap the Central Arizona
Project Canal, which delivers Colorado River water. But the
canal runs too far south for Yavapai County. Without a
significant source of surface water, communities in the area
must rely almost solely on groundwater and, as a result, aquifer
levels are falling rapidly. That's why Prescott and its partner
in the deal, Prescott Valley, had to buy a "water ranch" just t