Carefree is Outside Affected Study Area
As has been widely reported, last week Arizona announced groundwater restrictions that could slow new residential development within the Phoenix Active Management Area (AMA).
A new Arizona Department of Water Resources (DWR) study of groundwater supplies within the Phoenix AMA has found the system to be overallocated by 4.86 Million acre-feet over the next century, and for this reason no new Certificates of Assured Water Supply (CAWS) will be issued within the AMA based on groundwater withdrawals. Without a CAWS, new residential developments cannot proceed.
Despite lying within the Phoenix AMA, the Carefree aquifer (technically the Carefree Sub-basin), was not part of the recent groundwater study, which was restricted to the Hassayampa and East and West Salt River valley sub-basins. No study has yet been done to determine sustainable withdrawals from the Carefree sub-basin.
As is true for many valley communities, potential new development in Carefree is expected to be unaffected by this new policy, however. Though the Town does not have an official Assured Water Supply designation, it is supplied exclusively by the Carefree Water Company which has a Central Arizona Project (CAP) designation of 1,300 acre-feet per year, nearly 25% more than current annual use. It has been recent DWR practice to issue new Certificates of Assured Water Supply based on the Water Company’s unused CAP allocation, and no change to that policy was indicated in a meeting with DWR last week that was attended by Carefree Water. Though Carefree does withdraw groundwater from wells in the Carefree aquifer, no new withdrawals are expected to be needed to support any possible new residential developments.
Carefree Unity 6/07/2023
Carefree Unity 