Cochise supervisors approve $300,000 for parcel tied to proposed Bisbee effluent recharge project over public objections

Cochise County supervisors voted 2–1 on Aug. 19 to approve warrants to purchase a parcel tied to a proposed Bisbee effluent recharge project, clearing roughly $300,000 for the sale and a roughly $2,000 title payment despite sustained public opposition.

The vote follows more than a dozen public speakers who alternately urged the board to stop the land purchase and to allow it so technical studies could proceed. Supporters said treated effluent has been tested and that recharge projects along the San Pedro River have increased groundwater; opponents warned of possible contamination of shallow wells, unstudied contaminants such as PFAS, archaeological resources on the parcel and loss of property value.

The land purchase approved by the warrants is intended to allow the county to perform site-specific studies required before any recharge facility could be sited. "The recharge project is not being approved now, only the land acquisition," said Holly Richter, a PhD hydrologist who has led the San Pedro wet/dry mapping project, adding that foundation funding is in place to pay for subsequent studies and that Bisbee effluent previously tested by the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality met proposed PFAS benchmarks in 2022.