And God said; “And let the waters under the heaven be gathered together in one place, and let the dry land appear; and it was so.” (Genesis 1:9). I don’t think He had northern Arizona in mind; however it’s now our turn to deal with the issue.

The scientific data on available groundwater are incomplete as they relate to the future of our area. Senator John McCain called for the creation of the Verde River Basin Partnership (VRBP) to provide broad based planning in the four-county, 6,622 square-mile watershed that is home to about 200,000 people.

In a July, 2006 letter to the mayors of Chino Valley, Dewey-Humbolt, Prescott and Prescott Valley, McCain urged their participation in the VRBP, formed under Title II of Public Law 109-110, the Northern Arizona Land Exchange and VRBP Act of 2005. The letter states, in part, “...these communities are challenged with the crucial task of managing a shared but limited water supply in the face of drought and rapid population growth - a challenge you know well as Mayor.”

Therein lies the problem.

The former cattlemen-ranchers on the western side of Mingus who are now wealthy and getting more wealthy every year do not want the “water facts” to get in the way. Yavapai County Supervisor Carol Springer, Prescott Councilman Bob Roecker, Chino Valley Mayor Karen Fann and Prescott Valley’s Mayor and Council repeat PV Town Manager Larry Tarkowski’s mantra that we don’t have a water problem.

The “Big Four” in McCain’s letter are focused on growth. A recent Central Yavapai Metro Planning Organization (CYMPO) transportation plan projects a 273.4 percent population increase in Yavapai County, from 117,671 in 2004 to 439,389 in 2030. A calculation of the water requirements indicates that 2.6 people per household and 3 families per acre-foot of water per year ac/ft/yr) computes to a need for 41,245.9 additional ac/ft/yr of water.

Now, back to the current time period. In 2003, the decline in groundwater storage was estimated at 11,300 ac/ft. In 2006, we are in the eighth or ninth year of what could be a 30 year plus drought period. Yet the demand on supplies continues to grow. The Prescott – Prescott Valley intergovernmental agreement to import 8,714 ac/ft/yr from the Big Chino aquifer, if ever approved, will be minuscule in meeting the demand even for the next five years.

At a 2004 PV Economic Development Foundation meeting, Tarkowski said,  “(P)ulling water from the (Big Chino) aquifer will allow the tri-cities to extend their 100-year water supply into a 300-year water supply.” Tarkowski went on to state, “The federal government, through the Endangered Species Act, will guarantee there will be no negative flows of the Verde River, or they will shut us down.”

In Nov. 2006 CV mayor Karen Fann said on local radio that if the “issue of the Big Chino were off the table, perhaps the tri-cities might consider joining the VRBP.”

The Land Barons and their elected spokespeople want to hoodwink the public on water issues as it relates to their projected land sales. After all, 123,738 new homes will need about 41,245 acres of land. At $500,000 per acre, that’s over $20.6 billion.

God, help us now.

(Tom Steele is a former Prescott Valley Councilman.)