The Peoria City Council approved a property agreement with the Roman Catholic Diocese of Phoenix that will allow the city to build and service two water wells on the diocese’s property near Lake Pleasant Parkway and Loop 303.
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The Peoria City Council approved a property agreement with the Roman Catholic Diocese of Phoenix that will allow the city to build and service two water wells on the diocese’s property near Lake Pleasant Parkway and Loop 303.
The project is part of a larger plan to build up to five new potable water recovery wells and associated pipelines that will take water to a central treatment facility.
Water security is one of council’s strategic priorities, and they recently approved the fiscal year budget that includes $112.2 million for the completion of the wellfield/booster pump station at this location, a reclaimed water line from Jomax to Beardsley, and a Salt River Project-Central Arizona Project interconnect facility.
Deputy City Manager Kevin Burke said this is a foundational piece that will provide access to water rights the city already enjoys, but also delivers that water to the right location at the right time.
Well drilling is expected to begin next month and to end December 2025.
“When we talk about water security, this is the project we have been talking about,” he said. “This is the idea of putting new wells in the ground in north central Peoria that prepares us for more uncertainty in the water world and makes us more resilient to that end,” he said.
The Colorado River Basin, which includes seven U.S. states and Mexico, is currently under a Tier 1 shortage.
CAP says the shortage represents a 512,000 acre-foot reduction to Arizona’s Colorado River water supply, constituting 30% of CAP’s normal supply, about 18% of Arizona’s Colorado River supply, and just under 8% of Arizona’s total water use.
Under Tier 1, Peoria does not receive water cuts.
Water Resources Manager Brett Fleck said the city will not likely receive water cuts in CAP supply this year and next year. Moving into 2026, the supply also looks available for Peoria, but it is too early to tell if there will be cuts then, he said.
Peoria needs wells online in 2027 to help protect against the worst-case scenarios, and these wells will serve that purpose, Fleck said.
“Back to back hot and dry winters is really all it takes to set us on a pretty negative trajectory. We are always two or three years away from having to make some adjustments. Those wells will recover water that was previously stored underground for just this purpose,” he said. “We are taking a look at the forecast, we are trying to make our judgment, we are trying to be conservative and we are planning ahead, and that’s what Peoria does best.”
The future wellfield is generally located southwest of where the CAP canal crosses Lake Pleasant Parkway. The project will build five new water wells, piping, reservoir, and booster pump station at the site. Two of the five wells will be at the southwest and northeast corners of the diocese property, and the other three will be on State Trust Land.
Peoria Civil Engineer Chris Sterne said the property agreement grants the city property to construct and maintain two well sites, an easement to construct a water line between the two well sites, and a roadway as well as a public utility easement along the north end of the diocese property.
The agreement grants the diocese permission to receive service from the new water line sooner than waiting for the development of infrastructure at Lake Pleasant Parkway. The diocese will pay for the water at the standard rate, but the agreement allows them to have access to that water, Sterne said.
“It essentially allows the city to fast track the drilling and the equipping of two wells and wellfield, while working through the longer process of obtaining right of way from the state land department for the remaining three wells,” Sterne said. “The Diocese benefits by obtaining early access to the city’s water supply. It saves them from waiting for the development on Lake Pleasant Parkway and having to extend utilities to their site.”
Philip Haldiman can be reached at phaldiman@iniusa.org, or on Twitter @philiphaldiman. We’d like to invite our readers to submit their civil comments, pro or con, on this issue. Email AZOpinions@iniusa.org.
Philip Haldiman is a third generation Arizona native with brief residencies on the east and west coasts.
He has bachelor’s degrees in Theater and Journalism at Arizona State University, and is an award winning journalist with more than 15 years worth of experience in reporting and editing.
Most recently, he took first place for investigative reporting and third place for best sustained coverage or series at the 2023 Arizona Newspapers Association awards.
In his free time, he produces an autobiographical comic book about his time spent in Hollywood and his life as a cult film star.
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