Arguments For the K2 Well
The K2 well offers a viable cost-effective medium term solution to the water shortage in Pine and enables Strawberry to avoid experiencing water shortages. The K2 well is the first positive action to be taken towards resolving the water issues in the last decade. This web page provides information in support of the K2 well development:
The Problem: Impact of the water shortages and the amount of water needed to resolve the shortages.
The Solution: K2 site selection criteria and agreement.
The Benefits: The impact that the K2 well will have on the community.
The responses to the arguments being made against the K2 well can be found here:
Response to Arguments Against K2: Response to the arguments being made against drilling the K2 well.
Response to Irrelevant Arguments Against K2: Response to the arguments being made against drilling the K2 well that on examination are not about the K2 well.
The Problem
We are in the midst of a multi-year drought which has resulted in not enough rain and snow to recharge the groundwater that Pine and Strawberry rely on. With no end in sight to the drought, people are seeing wells go dry because the shallow aquifers in Pine and Strawberry are not getting enough water to keep up with the demand. The shallow aquifer is also referred to as the "C" aquifer.
During this time Pine has been plagued by water shortages during the summer months. Water usage restrictions have greatly reduced the quality of life in Pine. In the last few years, mandatory water hauling to maintain the water supply in Pine during the summer months has led to water hauling charges for every Pine Water Company (PWCo) customer. In addition there is a moratorium on new meters in Pine which has left some home owners and property owners without access to water.
During this time Strawberry has not had water usage restrictions because the shallow aquifer under Strawberry is more productive than the one under Pine and Strawberry has fewer water company users. In the past there has been enough extra water in Strawberry that water could be sent to Pine. In the summer of 2007 that changed. Strawberry experienced its first water shortages and no water was available to send to Pine.
Pine and Strawberry need a reliable water supply that is capable of supporting a good quality of life and the future growth of the two communities. Strawberry's level of water usage is an example of usage by a water conscious community without water restrictions. Strawberry’s water consumption during 2006 averaged 2753 gallons/month for each customer. Pine’s average usage was 2055 gallons/month. Raising current Pine user’s consumption to the same level as Strawberry’s, and restarting growth with the addition of 81 meters for those properties currently on the waiting list, will require an additional 19,545,000 gallons per year.
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The Solution
The Pine-Strawberry Water Improvement District (PSWID) is an elected board of seven local citizens who are chartered to look for ways to provide an adequate and reliable water supply for the Pine and Strawberry areas. This board was set up through a petition of the Pine and Strawberry property owners and is funded by a water district property tax.
Over the past several years the PSWID board has studied the possible water solutions. In early 2006, the PSWID board determined that there was a need for an immediate mid-term solution to the water shortages so that water hauling charges could be avoided, water restrictions could be removed, and growth in the area restarted. They began to work with PWCo to identify a site with a good chance of high yield that could be brought on-line quickly at a reasonable cost. This would be a well that tapped into a new source of water, the deep aquifer. The deep aquifer is also referred to as the "R" aquifer.
Using those criteria, the K2 site was selected for a test well to prove the sustained gallons per minute (gpm) yield of the site. This is too be followed by a production well if the site proves to be satisfactory. The goal for the well is to be able to provide a minimum sustained yield of 150 gpm.
PSWID and PWCo entered into an agreement to jointly pursue development of the K2 site. PSWID would provide funding ($300,000) for the initial test well to determine if the site will have sufficient yield. If the K2 site proves to be successful, PWCo will reimburse the PSWID funding plus 6% interest and will invest up to $1,000,000 to drill a production well and connect the well into the water distribution infrastructure.
By funding the test well PSWID has changed the dynamics that have long blocked the development of additional water resources. Deep aquifer wells are very expensive and there is always a risk that the well will not produce a sufficient yield.
PWCo is regulated by the Arizona Corporation Commission (ACC). The ACC is unlikely to allow PWCo to recover the costs for a dry hole. The risk of not recovering the $300,000 has represented too much of a hurdle for a water company that has only broken even on its operating earnings over the last five years and had gross revenues of only $847,000 in 2006.
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The Benefits
A successful K2 well will have the following impact on the community:
1. Increases the available water supply by 93%.
At a 150 gpm, the K2 well will have the capability to produce 78,840,000 gallons per year. The combined usage of Pine and Strawberry in 2006 was 84,644,000 gallons.
2. Strawberry gets access to a large source of water without paying the development costs.
The customers of PWCo will be paying all of the development costs for the K2 well. The customers of SWCo will have access to the large amount of excess water over the next few years without having to pay those costs.
3. Reduces the amount of water taken from the shallow aquifers.
The K2 well will tap a new source of water, the deep aquifer. All of the current wells are in the shallow aquifers. Taking water from the deep aquifer will allow the amount of water taken from the shallow aquifers to be reduced. This will allow the water production of the shallow aquifers to be reduced to a sustainable level. Private wells will also benefit from the reduced drawdown of the shallow aquifers.
4. Removes the water hauling charges.
With the K2 well, there will be no more water hauling required and no more water hauling charges for the PWCo customers. A total of 3,217,000 gallons were hauled in 2007 for a total cost (trucking and water only) of $224,757.00. During the total hauling period Pine customers used approximately 17,503,967 gallons. Therefore, average 2007 augmentation charge was $0.01284 per gallon used by each customer during the augmentation periods.
5. Removes water usage restrictions in the summer for both Pine and Strawberry.
The K2 well will enable Pine to stay at Stage 1 throughout the summer. This will significantly improve the quality of life for the residents of Pine. It will enable Strawberry to avoid the effects of the water usage stages that have recently been imposed. With the K2 well, water flows from our faucets whenever we have a need for it, rather than when the water restrictions say we can have it.
6. Restarts growth in Pine.
The moratorium on installation of new meters can be lifted. This will allow the 81 properties on the waiting list for access to water to be given service. This will make water available for additional future growth in the area.
7. Increases property values.
People looking to relocate to the Mogollon Rim area are well aware of Pine’s water problems. This tends to depress property values as fewer people are willing to buy in the area. Removal of water as an issue will raise property values for all residents of Pine and Strawberry.
8. Allows the focus to shift to other problems that need addressing
The water issues have consumed a lot of time and energy in Pine. The K2 well will allow people to shift their efforts to addressing the other problems in the community. The amount of frustration and animosity that has been generated by the water shortages has not been good for those who live in Pine. The K2 well will make Pine a happier place to reside.
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