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Guest Comment: The issue is about water, not a mine

By Arturo R. Gabaldon
Published: Saturday, December 1, 2007 8:34 PM MST


The issue is about water, not a mine!

Community Water Company of Green Valley is alerting you to the Arizona Corporation Commission meeting scheduled for 1 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 5, at the American Legion Post No. 66, 1560 W. Duval Mine Road, Sahuarita. It is urgent that you attend this meeting and express your support for the co-op’s CAP pipeline project to ensure that CAP water is used to protect our local environment’s aquifer.

Community Water’s CAP pipeline project has several important benefits to Green Valley and Sahuarita:

  • 1. These benefits are at no cost to Community Water’s rate-payers.

  • 2. A Community Water-owned pipeline will be constructed from the CAP terminus at Pima Mine road to our water service area near Duval Mine Road.

  • 3. A Community Water-owned recharge facility will be constructed east of Nogales Highway.


  • 4. If developed, the entire Rosemont Mine water usage will be recharged over a 15-year period.

  • 5. Community Water’s CAP water allocation will be used at least 15 years earlier than originally planned; ensuring future availability to our community.

  • 6. Community Water will control the construction and operation of the pipeline and recharge facility.

  • 7. Community Water will retain its water rights at all times.

  • 8. The pipeline and recharge facility have a useful lifetime extending many years into the future, enabling Community Water to continue use of our CAP water far into the future.

    The co-op began operating on June 10, 1977, with less than 3,000 homes connected to the water system; today we serve over 11,500 homes. Community Water has taken a leadership role by recognizing the value of local control of our water resources and taking a proactive approach to resolving our water problems. Water sustainability and the local water environment have been recognized as important issues by the membership and customers of the cooperative. Local taxpayers also have a growing awareness that their water supplies are not sustainable.

    Community Water’s board has taken the lead in a responsible course of action to protect our local water environment. Community Water’s negotiations with Rosemont provide a unique opportunity. Rosemont has agreed to finance our CAP pipeline project prior to the actual withdrawal of local groundwater for the mine operations, whether or not the mine is developed. This will enable Community Water to recharge our CAP water locally (serving portions of Green Valley and Sahuarita) without cost to the rate-payers.

    The facts are simple; the aquifer is going down from two to four feet per year and the largest local water users are the mines and agriculture. These entities have grandfathered water rights that exceed natural recharge and they annually consume 85 percent of all water pulled (about 70,000 acre-feet) from the local environment. Homes and businesses use about 9 percent and golf courses 6 percent of the water pulled annually from our local water environment. One-hundre percent reliance on groundwater is unsustainable.

    The membership of Community Water uses nearly 3,000 acre-feet of water annually and is aware of its impact on our local water environment. Conservation alone will not result in a sustainable water supply. We are pleased to have secured nearly 3,000 acre-feet of renewable Central Arizona Project (CAP) water allocations for our customers. Our long-range plan includes the building of a pipeline to bring this CAP water to our area. In 2007, we found funding to construct, own and operate a pipeline, at no cost to our rate-payers, and many years earlier than planned. The terms of this funding have been disclosed. The result will be a pipeline that can deliver 7,000 acre-feet of much needed CAP water to our local water environment; our allocation plus some.

    Those people opposing the Rosemont mine development should be encouraged to understand that this is a separate issue; and that this water project is of vital importance to Green Valley and Sahuarita.

    We continue to keep ourselves available for discussions with Pima County; however loosing this funding opportunity is unacceptable. Pima County has criticized the pipeline because it considers the Community Water pipeline project too small to deliver sufficient water to meet safe yield in the local aquifer. The county also said it will not provide funding for a larger pipe. Frankly, the possibility of raising taxes on our community to meet safe yield requirements is a concern.

    It is urgent that you attend the Arizona Corporation Commission meeting and express your support for the co-op’s CAP pipeline project to ensure that CAP water is used to protect our local environment’s aquifer. We need your help to deliver this simple message - we need to build a sustainable water supply.

    Arturo R. Gabaldon is president of Community Water Company of Green Valley.

    The views expressed are the author’s and not necessarily this newspaper’s



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