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Cave Creek staff outline $11.2 million Harquahala water‑rights option as Colorado River cuts loom
Summary
Town staff told the water advisory committee the town is weighing an $11.2 million option to buy Harquahala Valley water rights (500 acre‑feet/year for 100 years) with $50,000 in earnest money due mid‑January, while regional projects and a likely 20% CAP cut complicate delivery costs and long‑term planning.
Sean, Cave Creek’s water resources lead, briefed the advisory committee on plans to secure additional water supplies as an estimated 20% cut to Colorado River CAP municipal and industrial deliveries looms. Staff are considering purchasing rights from Harquahala Valley landowners that would give the town access on paper to 500 acre‑feet per year for 100 years.
“The town is facing the decision to purchase... it is $11,200,000 to actually complete the purchase,” Sean said, stressing the upfront cost and the short decision timetable. The town has $50,000 in earnest money on the table; staff said that money would be lost if the council does not decide by the January 15–16 deadline and that a final payment would be due in mid‑February if they proceed.
Why it matters: Sean said modelers for the Harquahala project estimate groundwater availability under certain parcels but cautioned that paper water does not guarantee physical delivery. Conveyance remains unresolved: EPCOR has proposed a common infrastructure plan to collect and treat water from Harquahala and convey it to the CAP canal, but staff said cost models and participation terms remain confidential under an NDA and were not available to the committee.
“The proposal is that they would build it and then charge us back as a user,” Sean said, adding that staff have not yet seen a cost model and that delivery and annual operating costs are “a big unknown for the town.”
Staff also updated the committee on larger regional projects that affect Cave Creek’s options. The Verde Valley (Bartlett Dam) sedimentation mitigation and reservoir‑raising project has a current cost estimate shared with the committee of about $3.7 billion; the Bureau of Reclamation has told the project team it will reserve roughly half of new construction capacity for its partners, forcing members to recertify allocations.
Sean described how storage allocations can vary year to year — for example, a 1,000‑acre‑foot storage account could average about 268 acre‑feet in typical years — and warned that per‑acre‑foot costs can swing widely between wet and dry years. He said the town is also pursuing medium‑term options such as using recharge credits and agreements with West Valley partners to access Arizona Water Banking Authority credits.
Committee members raised concern about buying what one called “paper water” without clarity on annual delivery costs. “We have no idea how much it's gonna cost to get that into the canal on a yearly basis,” Committee member Nancy said. Sean replied that staff continue to press for details and that the town entered the NDA to be allowed to review project books, but that timing has been compressed by the project's deadlines.
Next steps: staff said they will brief council directly in multiple meetings in January and recommended executive sessions combined with open sessions to update the council before a final purchase decision. The advisory committee requested updates on any forthcoming EPCOR presentation and ongoing cost estimates.
