FICO and Mission Peaks make second proposal for CAP pipeline

FICO and the developer of the proposed Mission Peaks project have made the second proposal for a pipeline that would extend the Central Arizona Project to Green Valley and Sahuarita, bringing Colorado River and other water to the region.

Farmers Investment Co. (FICO), which operates 7,000 acres of pecan orchards and its own water company, has joined with developer American Nevada Co. of suburban Las Vegas. On Monday they issued a news release saying they expect to build a pipeline. Larry Kempton, Community Relations Manager for FICO said the area needs 30,000 acre-feet a year to offset overpumping of groundwater and that would require a 36-inch diameter pipe. An acre-foot is about 325,000 gallons of water, enough to supply three single family homes a year.

The first planned pipeline is one that would be owned by Community Water Co. of Green Valley and paid for by Augusta Resource, the Vancouver-based company that is behind the proposed Rosemont Copper Mine project in the Santa Rita Mountains.

The Central Arizona Project system now ends at Pima Mine Road east of Interstate 19.

The newer pipeline plan would allow ANC to recharge the estimated 5,000 acre-feet of water a year that Mission Peaks would draw from the aquifer to serve its proposed 15,000-unit project. ANC last year bought a one-third share in the Sahuarita Water Co., formerly Rancho Sahuarita Water Co., and that will supply Mission Peaks with wet water, but under state rules, it must recharge an equal amount.

FICO already has obtained state permitting for a recharge facility at its Sahuarita farm, one that could accommodate 20,000 acre-feet of water a year, and the pipeline would provide wet water for that facility. FICO opposes the controversial copper mine proposal and may be offering the new pipeline as an mine-free alternative. FICO President Dick Walden said he welcomed any and all water companies in the area to join the FICO-ANC proposal.

ANC has not yet obtained needed zoning from either the Town of Sahuarita, to which it may annex, or Pima County, so it may be unwilling to join the CWC-Augusta pipeline because of the unpopularity of the mine. In 2007, it floated the idea of spending up to $13 million on a pipeline in a planning document with Pima County, but the new plan gives it access to FICO’s recharge facility.

CAP spokesman Bob Barrett said his agency could serve either or both pipeline and has no position on the matter, but said that it makes no economic sense to have two pipelines, and that one larger pipeline would be more efficient.

The CWC pipeline is expected to cost Augusta between $15 million and $18 million, but the FICO-ANC line could cost less to start, as its Phase 1 might be a shorter distance, to the FICO farm. It could eventually be extended to Green Valley, to Sahuarita Heights and to Canoa Ranch, Dick Walden said.

Whether the CAP system could continue to provide Colorado River water indefinitely is an unknown, but there are other water sources, Barrett said, including water that could be leased from Indian tribes, treated effluent and desalination of seawater. A proposed nuclear power plant near Puerto Penasco (Rocky Point) on the Sea of Cortez could power a desalination plant, Barrett said.

FICO said they might start with a smaller pipeline, then add capacity, but eventually would need to provide capacity equal to that proposed by CWC, which would be 30,000 or more acre-feet annually.

The CWC pipeline was announced about a year ago and design work is well under way, CWC President Arturo Gabald—n said. A link to a map of the pipeline route is on the company’s Web site at http://www.communitywater.com/.

FICO Vice President Nan Walden said that Pima County is cooperating in the effort to build a second pipeline, and that the Central Arizona Groundwater Replenishment District also will play a role.

The press release, in addition to quoting ANC Senior Vice President Dan Naef, included this comment from Pima County Administrator Chuck Huckelberry: “Pima County has consistently supported a regional approach to addressing the water concerns of the Upper Santa Cruz Valley. We’ve been impressed with the good work of USC/PUG and the common efforts of its members.”

USC/PUG is the acronym for the Upper Santa Cruz Providers and Users Group, which was formed in late 2007 and is made up of the major water providers and users in the Upper Santa Cruz Valley. Its studies have found a substantial overdraft of groundwater and have identified multiple possible ways to bring renewable sources of water to the valley.

USC/PUG has not endorsed either the FICO-ANC proposal or the CWC-Augusta plan.

CWC Board Chairman Ken Taylor said he welcomed the announcement of a second pipeline and hoped that all parties could work together.

Dick Walden said “USC/PUG has laid out a road map for a regional solution to our valley’s water challenges. Pima County continues to provide important information and valuable staff support to our efforts.”

Walden said the details of who would own the FICO-ANC pipeline had not been worked out and that it could be a not-for profit or a profit-making venture.

While FICO said it welcomes the participation of all other water companies in the area, including CWC, it remains strongly opposed to the proposed copper mine. FICO’s lawyers, Dinah Bear and Van Wolf, are expected to argue that the CWC-Augusta pipeline, like the mine proposal itself, should be subject to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) regulatory process, which could tie the pipeline up for years. If the CWC pipeline falls under the NEPA process, it could be delayed for years and that might allow the ANC-FICO pipeline to catch up and attract other investors or customers.

pfranchine@sahuaritasun.com | 547-9738