Prescott Valley and partners test 'Red Rock' stormwater recharge pilot, seek WIFA funding

Prescott Valley officials and water-industry partners described a field trial they say could turn stormwater from a nuisance into a local water resource by moving surface water quickly below the zone of evaporation.

Hunter Moore, a member of the Prescott Valley team that convened the project, said the group is testing how to “move water underground faster to avoid evaporation and to reach the local aquifer quickly.” The panel outlined a demonstration at Red Rock that compares an unenhanced control basin with an enhanced basin using a proprietary infiltration technology developed by a company referred to in the presentation as Parana.

Why it matters: Tracy Lund, Water Resources Adviser for the Town of Prescott Valley, reminded listeners that the Prescott Active Management Area has been declared out of safe yield by the Arizona Department of Water Resources, with the aquifer estimated to be declining about one foot per year. "Our…