Comments by Friends of Flagstaff’s Future – December 20, 2011

Contact: Karen Goodwin karen.goodwin@friendsofflagstaff

At the Water Commission meeting on December 15, Brad Hill used an interesting analogy to describe the inclusion of reclaimed water and water from Red Gap Ranch into the City of Flagstaff Designation of Adequate Water Supply. He said this designation is like pouring all the city’s water sources – surplus surface, ground and reclaimed, plus Red Gap Ranch - into one bucket, then drawing water out of the bucket as Flagstaff grows and new demands for water arise. Mr. Hill estimates that the city will begin drawing Red Gap Ranch water out of the bucket in about 20 years.

By dramatically increasing Flagstaff’s designation of its “adequate” water supply, we are left with the illusion that the city now has lots of water to meet the desires of future businesses and residential developments. City officials and policy-makers may feel “water rich” and thus not obligated to carefully conserve water as the city grows. But what if the Red Gap Ranch water turns out to be unaffordable, unavailable or unusable in 20 years? Lacking comprehensive conservation, by 2031 the city likely will have little if any remaining surplus surface, ground or reclaimed water for future growth.

By 2031, will there be new legal claims to the water rights at Red Gap Ranch? What will the pipeline cost? Who will own the pipeline? What will it cost to treat the water? What are the perpetual energy needs to move the water 2000 feet uphill over 30 miles?

Relying on Red Gap Ranch to meet Flagstaff’s future water needs is a very risky business. Rather, the city ought to manage its water supplies as if water from Red Gap Ranch may not be available in 20 years. The city can decline to engage in contracts for large volumes of potable or reclaimed water. It can fix leaking water mains. It can invest in public education, incentives, regulations, and rate structures, all designed to improve water conservation.

The city can conduct the risk analyses and tracer studies for contaminants that will either assure the public our reclaimed water is safe for many uses and for groundwater recharge, or will illustrate the necessity for advanced waste water treatment. If testing deems it necessary, the city can invest in advanced treatment of its reclaimed water. The estimated cost of $45,000,000 for the highest level of advanced treatment is 17% of the estimated cost to build a pipeline from Red Gap Ranch to Flagstaff, in today’s dollars.

An informed public will support good policy. City leaders need to ensure that residents are fully informed about how water policy is being crafted. Before any policy is finalized, Friends of Flagstaff’s Future asks you to allow at least two more months for public education and public comment regarding this water policy.

Water from Red Gap Ranch may become part of Flagstaff’s water supply at some point in the future, but that is by no means a certainty. Don’t engage in risky behavior. We urge you to manage Flagstaff’s water today and into the future as if water from Red Gap Ranch is a possibility, not a given.