Cochise County staff outline property purchase, design status for Bisbee effluent recharge project

Chairman Antonari and the Cochise County Board of Supervisors heard details July 17 about the Bisbee effluent recharge project and a planned county purchase of property needed to finish design. Deputy County Administrator Joe Casey introduced the item; county flood-control staff said the project is 30% designed and that the county would need to buy land this year to complete final design and locate a recharge basin. "The project is 30% designed," county flood-control staff said. "We would finish design this year, and construction would be after we find funds for construction. It's about $14,000,000 for construction." The staff presentation said a WIFA grant to the City of Bisbee — $1,950,000 — will fund a pump station to move effluent from Bisbee to the river; the county would acquire roughly 10–20 acres for a recharge basin out of a parcel the presenter described as about 92 acres. The presenter said an America the Beautiful grant held by the City of Sierra Vista (about $1 million) is also supporting design work and that the county purchase of the property is needed so final plans can show the recharge-basin location. Board members discussed how much of the parcel the county might keep for recharge versus sell. "We would need maybe 10, 20 acres for the recharge, then we could sell the rest of the property," county flood-control staff said. Supervisors noted the long-term legal context: county staff linked recharge work to the Gila River adjudication and said increasing surface flow has potential implications for many wells in the San Pedro subflow zone. At the work session the item was reviewed as an agenda item for the Board’s upcoming regular meeting; no final action to buy property or award contracts occurred at the work session. County staff repeatedly cautioned that construction will wait until the design is complete and construction funding is secured. Board members raised implementation and community concerns, including the project’s reliance on grants and the relationship to existing effluent discharges; staff said the county and partners will comply with applicable standards and permitting for recharge. The presentation described current effluent being discharged in drainage features near Naco Highway and noted some local wells are shallow (roughly 10–30 feet), while others are much deeper. The work session also included a fiscal note: a supervisor commented that if the county purchases the property and later chooses not to build, the land could be resold; staff said no conservation easement would be placed at purchase. The county scheduled the purchase-agreement item for the regular meeting agenda and asked staff to provide final contract language and a breakdown of funding sources before any vote.