Chandler pays $43 million for some of Gila River tribe's water

Chandler expects to run out of developable land in the city by 2030, but a key need to reach that is more water. The city recently secured enough to handle both new demand and some of its needs for the next 100 years.

The City Council reached a deal to pay the Gila River Indian Community nearly $43 million for rights to a portion of the tribe's Central Arizona Project water. The deal also will allow Chandler to obtain long-term storage credits to store additional CAP water underground.

Chandler will receive 5.5 million gallons of water per day beginning in 2019 and continuing for 100 years under the terms of the agreement approved July 28.

Chandler uses an average of 55 million gallons of water per day, said John Knudson, the city's municipal utilities director. At build-out in 2030, the city expects to use about 85 million gallons a day, he said.

"We're always looking over our water demands and our water growth as the city builds out,'' Knudson said, adding that the city updates its water master plan every three to five years. "A few years ago we noticed a gap.

"This purchase is to fill that gap. It also allows a little bit of extra for unplanned opportunities,'' he said, for example, having enough water if a large company decides to locate in Chandler years from now.

Beyond that, Arizona's 1980 Groundwater Management Act requires municipalities to have a 100-year assured water supply. Knudson said this deal will help Chandler meet that requirement by supplementing its existing water sources.

As part of the deal, Chandler will send reclaimed water from its treatment plants to the reservation for agricultural use in exchange for some of the new CAP water used for residential and business consumption.Reclaimed water comes from sewage water treated by the city and is treated to a slightly lesser quality than potable water. It's used for irrigating large tracts of land such as golf courses or farm lands, such as those on the Gila River Indian Reservation.

The deal also includes a lease of additional tribal CAP water rights over the 100 years. The city will acquire long-term water-storage credits available through the Gila River Water Storage LLC, a joint venture between the tribe and Salt River Project. The credits allow Chandler to store additional CAP water underground.

Tribal officials, in a statement provided to The Republic, said the deal will help the community offset rising costs of delivering CAP water to the reservation while enhancing farming efforts.

"This agreement helps further the Gila River Indian Community’s goal to expand its agricultural development by exchanging water with Chandler that are less costly than using CAP water and generating revenue that will be used to address the rising cost of CAP water,'' the tribe said.

Knudson said the first payment to the tribal community will happen this fiscal year, followed by payments in three subsequent fiscal years.

He said the agreement is funded through utility rates paid by the city's water customers, noting the $43 million agreement already is included in the city's capital budget over a four-year period based on current rates. He said the city will not have to increase rates to fund the deal.

Why isn't Central Arizona Project canal open for public use?