2/14/2007 4:00:00 AM Holt: Big Chino pipeline on track Officials eye 2009 goal
By CINDY BARKS The Daily Courier
PRESCOTT VALLEY With just more than two years to go, Prescott and Prescott Valley officials still are eyeing July 2009 as the projected date for getting water flowing from the Big Chino Water Ranch.
That was one of the points that Big Chino Water Ranch Project Manager Jim Holt made Tuesday morning during a quarterly breakfast meeting of the Prescott Valley Economic Development Foundation.
As keynote speaker for the event, which attracted more than 80 people to the Tim's Toyota Center, Holt provided some basic background, along with the scope, timeline, and issues relating to the project.
Ever since Prescott and Prescott Valley partnered to buy a portion of the former JWK Ranch in the Paulden area in late 2004, Holt said, officials have used the 2009 date as a goal for completion of the water pipeline necessary to transport Big Chino water to the tri-city area.
While he noted that "in between, there are a lot of things that need to occur," Holt said officials continue to use that date. Even so, he said everyone involved realizes that "this is an extremely aggressive schedule."
After the meeting, Holt acknowledged that a variety of complications still could arise to affect the completion date. "There are any number of issues that could potentially affect that," he said of the deadline.
For example, a consultant currently is conducting right-of-way appraisals on about 160 parcels along the 30-mile route of the pipeline. After the appraisals are complete, negotiations still have to take place for acquisition of the rights-of-way.
Meanwhile, Prescott and Prescott Valley also face the possibility of a lawsuit over the impact that pumping could have on the flow of the Verde River, which originates near Paulden. In late 2004, the Center for Biological Diversity filed a notice of intent to sue the two communities over their purchase of the ranchland for a water source.
Treatment for arsenic content in the water also has been a major concern during the design of the well field at the ranch. In fact, Holt said the arsenic content likely would increase the number of wells at the Big Chino Water Ranch.
Plans currently involve drilling nine water wells an increase from the half-dozen that the city originally planned. Holt pointed out that because arsenic content generally is greater as the wells go deeper, the city likely would opt for more wells at shallower depths to avoid the need for arsenic treatment.
By doing that, he said, the Big Chino Ranch water should fall within the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's drinking-water standards of 10 parts per billion, without treatment.
Holt added that the savings in arsenic treatment costs would offset the additional cost of drilling several more wells.
Currently, the Black and Veatch consultant firm is working on the final design of the pipeline and required booster stations. The design work should be complete by July, Holt said.
Earlier, Black and Veatch completed the conceptual design for the project, along with a cost estimate of nearly $170 million.
