The following information may be useful to you before or during the process of puchasing your new home. Included here are:
Buying Your New Home | Taking Title | Prescott Area Domestic Water Supply
People considering a move to Arizona and the Prescott area seem to have one major question in common. What is the water situation?
Water is a very precious resource whether it be in Arizona or elsewhere. Human life as we know it cannot survive without water. Even the casual visitor to the Prescott area realizes that there is a lot of human life here and more coming all the time.
The major water source for the Prescott Municipal Water System comes from deep wells located about 15 miles north of Prescott in the Chio Valley area. In that area, called the Little Chino Basin, is a major underground aquifer from which water is drawn and pumped into the Prescott area. The water is of high quality, medium hardness, and requires little treatment before distribution. Prescott Valley is served by Shamrock Water Company, whose water also comes from deep wells.
What if you are considering a home that is not served by the Prescott or Shamrock water systems? Where do those homes get their water? Well, it varies. Some communities of homes are served by small private water systems or have formed a Water District. Their sources of water may be from individual wells in their immediate area. Some may buy their water from the City of Prescott or Shamrock Water and their water will be of the same quality. Some of these small water systems are very good systems but some may have a variety of water problems varying from poorer quality water, low pressure, older water lines, etc. the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality controls all water systems by establishing standards and requires routine sampling and testing. That does not insure all water systems are equal.
Many homes may have their own individual well. All wells are permitted by and registered with the State Department of Water Resources. A property owner may file a Notice of Intent with DWR and receive approval to drill an exempt well for their domestic use. This allows a maximum of 35 gallons per minute for their consumption and watering of not more than two acres of grass or garden. That is a lot of water. Not all domestic wells will produce that much water nor will most people be able to use that much unless they are absolutely wasteful.
So, how much water does an individual well need to produce for a residence? Well, a family of four averaging 75 gallons each per day plus watering a number of trees and shrubs, laundry toilet, some lawn, horses and being rather wasteful will use the equivalent of about one-half gallon per minute from their well. That represents over 700 gallons per day or 21,000 gallons a month. Thus a properly equipped well producing over 1 gallon per minute will more than suffice for the normal home. Of course the greater the production the greater one's peace of mind.
If you are considering buying property, you should first insure that your agent has agreed to represent you. Your agent will then make sure that all your concerns about water are addressed and make sure that all inspections and tests are done to determnine the well's production, water quality and insure all equipment is in good condition. Having your own well can provide you with your own water at low cost and high quality. Just don't waste it -- anytime or anywhere.
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