Insufficient Groundwater for Arizona County's Planned Development

"Arizona’s top water official presented new long-term projections [recently] showing that Pinal County doesn’t have enough groundwater to provide for the fast-growing area’s cities, farms and many planned subdivisions over the coming decades," reports Ian James.

The projections show that the amount of available water is only 90 percent of the projected 100-year demand for water. The 10 percent deficit amounts to 8.1 million acre-feet, which is a significant gap, according to officials. The majority of the unmet demand is tied to agriculture and the state’s assured water supply program for new developments, notes James.

"It’s unclear what sorts of steps local water suppliers, cities, developers and growers might propose to deal with the shortfall, or how water regulators and leaders in the Legislature will respond," says James.