Peoria plans 5 new wells, pump station for $63.5 million as Colorado River drought continues
Download mp3 (1.11 MB)More Arizona cities are planning for a future in which Colorado River water is much scarcer. Peoria has announced plans to build five new wells and a new pump station to bolster the city’s water supply.
Peoria gets about a third of its water from the Central Arizona Project. It’s not facing any cuts to that supply currently, but the city’s population has grown 75% since 2000.
And Daniel Kiel, with the city’s water services department, said the new well site and pump station will add to the city’s water portfolio as the historic drought continues.
“This is just one way to make sure that, if we do get some restrictions on the CAP system, that we do at least have enough water to give to our residents,” Kiel told KJZZ News.
Since groundwater is finite, Kiel said the city is not looking at the wells as a long-term fix, but as a backup plan. The wells will be drilled at a site north of the Loop 303.
“It’s a logical location for wells for us," Kiel said. "We’ve actually had it in our water system master plan for years to start drilling wells up in this location, but it’s obviously been fast-tracked because of the recent issues we’ve been hearing with the Colorado River situation.”
The $63.5 million project will be funded with Water Infrastructure Finance Authority of Arizona loans and grants. The wells are expected to be completed in 2026.
