Peoria studies large water acquisition and a long-term advanced water purification plan
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Summary
Staff told council Peoria could acquire a major long-term underground storage portfolio and is studying advanced water purification (AWP); staff flagged the Bureau of Reclamation DEIS as a risk that could cut the city's Colorado River allocation by about 57 percent.
Peoria water managers presented council with a multi-part strategy to strengthen water security that includes an opportunity to acquire long-term underground storage credits and an exploratory plan for advanced water purification (AWP).
Staff said Peoria currently holds roughly 34,000 acre-feet of Colorado River allocation, used about 20,000 acre-feet last year and stores additional supply underground for shortfalls. Utilities staff described an acquisition opportunity to purchase 173,000 acre-feet of long-term storage credits—structured as 1,730 acre-feet per year over 100 years—paired with delivery infrastructure; staff characterized the acquisition as an alternative to a costly Bartlett Dam expansion.
“We have the opportunity to purchase 173,000 acre feet,” one utilities presenter said, noting the purchase would be priced in the tens of millions and that opening due diligence will include water testing, permits and financing studies. Staff emphasized redundancy as the principal rationale—roughly 50 percent of newly acquired supply would serve redundancy for existing users and 50 percent would support growth—and said the acquisition had been taken off the open market during exclusive negotiations.
Staff also summarized an AWP feasibility study that estimated the full multi-decade program could carry an order-of-magnitude cost near $1 billion; Phase 1 would be a smaller permitting, pilot and design program budgeted in the CIP at $11.1 million across the next four years. Utilities noted that AWP requires conveyance, brine handling, and operational investments beyond a single treatment plant.
Councilors asked for clearer public-facing materials separating water for new development from water for redundancy; staff said they will return with a sequence of water-study sessions, purchase-and-sale agreements, and financing options before any final purchase.
The city also referenced regional policy risk: staff said one Bureau of Reclamation draft environmental impact statement (DEIS) proposal could cut Peoria’s Colorado River allocation by roughly 57 percent if implemented as drafted, creating urgency for portfolio diversification.
Staff said next steps will include due diligence on the acquisition, multiple water-study sessions for council review, and separate vote(s) on any purchase or AWP funding mechanism.
