Late 2014, Liberty Utilities announced a partnership with the Central Arizona Groundwater Replenishment District (CAGRD), to build the state’s first public-private reclaimed water recharge facility. The CAGRD is the groundwater replenishment authority of the Central Arizona Water Conservation District (CAWCD) commonly known as CAP (Central Arizona Project).
Liberty Utilities and CAP held a joint ribbon-cutting ceremony at the Liberty Aquifer Replenishment Facility (LARF) in Goodyear, Arizona on February 1. Liberty Utilities, CAP and the Arizona Corporate Commission (ACC) gave opening remarks and a tour of the facility to those who were in after the ribbon cutting.
The CAGRD is statutorily obligated to replenish excess groundwater withdrawn by its members in Active Management Areas (AMAs) with a 100 year, renewable water supply. This new recharge facility will replenish the aquifer, reducing the environmental impacts of pumping and helping CAGRD meet its replenishment obligations.
“This new facility represents an important milestone for water management in Arizona,” according to Matthew Garlick, President of Liberty Utilities-Arizona. “Both the environment and our customers benefit from using reclaimed water to recharge local aquifers, specifically in an area known for depressed water levels due to decades of over pumping. This project will also allow Liberty Utilities and surrounding communities to be more drought tolerant in the future.”
CAP Board President Lisa Atkins said, “The partnership allows public and private industry to work together for the good of Arizona. Providing long-term water sustainability to the region, the project replenishes water within area of impact, maintains water levels, reduces pumping costs and is just good fiscal management.” The long-time West Valley resident and co-chair of the Governor’s Military Affairs Commission sees this as not only a watershed moment, but also a solution to mitigate the “Luke Sink,” a large depression in the aquifer caused by historic groundwater overdraft.
Liberty Utilities has 12 different wells which draw from the same groundwater area, or aquifer. The new facility is adjacent to, and flows toward, the Luke Sink. The agreement maintains local control of a valuable water resource for future supply reliability to benefit Liberty Utilities customers and the west Salt River Valley basin.
Reclaimed water is the most reliable, locally-generated supply available for aquifer replenishment. High quality reclaimed water is commonly recharged into local aquifers and provided for non-potable purposes throughout Arizona and the west.
The reclaimed water will come from Liberty Utilities’ Palm Valley Water Reclamation Facility (PVWRF). The PVWRF creates roughly 3.5 million gallons of high quality reclaimed water a day, which is sold for irrigation use in parks and golf courses. Surplus water will be delivered by special pipes to the recharge facility. These pipes will not be attached to any potable water lines.
About Liberty Utilities
Liberty Utilities is a regulated water, natural gas and electric transmission and distribution utility, delivering responsive and reliable essential services to nearly half a million customers across the United States. With a local approach to management, service and support, we deliver efficient, dependable services to meet the needs of our customers. Liberty Utilities provides a superior customer experience through walk-in customer centers, locally focused conservation and energy efficiency initiatives and programs for businesses and residential customers. We measure our performance in terms of service reliability, an enjoyable customer experience and an unwavering dedication to public and workplace safety. Liberty Utilities currently operates in Arizona, Arkansas, California, Georgia, Illinois, Iowa, Montana, Massachusetts, Missouri, New Hampshire and Texas. For more information, please visit www.LibertyUtilities.com.
About CAGRD
In 1993, the legislature created a groundwater replenishment authority to be operated by the Central Arizona Water Conservation District (CAWCD) throughout its three-county service area. This replenishment authority of CAWCD is commonly referred to as the Central Arizona Groundwater Replenishment District (CAGRD). The purpose of the CAGRD is to provide a mechanism for landowners and water providers to demonstrate an assured water supply under the Assured Water Supply (AWS) Rules that became effective in 1995. www.cap-az.com/departments/cagrd