By Angie Johnson-Schmit

Simply put, we can’t survive without it and few understand the importance of water as well as Arizonans. In a relatively dry climate, water is near the top of the list of most valuable resources and has been since humans first called the region home. From Native Americans, to the state’s early pioneer settlers, to the modern-day citizens, water has played and continues to play a key role in Central Arizona.

Indigenous people were keenly aware of the need to ensure access to adequate water supply for themselves, their animals, and their crops. There is archaeological evidence that several tribes utilized water management and conservation techniques like irrigation and terraces for agricultural purposes, including the Bajada “hanging canals” system that stretches for over 50 miles in the Safford Basin.

Learning how to find, capture, collect and manage the resource led hunter-gatherer tribes to shift into agrarian societies with established communities. In a challenging climate, those who were successful in developing water management skills thrived and many are still present in the region. The Hopi, Navajo, Apache, Zuni, and Pueblo tribes are examples of indigenous groups who were able to master those skills. Their people still inhabit the area.

A well-known archaeological example of indigenous water management is located in Yavapai County. Montezuma’s Well, part of the Montezuma Castle National Monument, is a limestone sinkhole fed by an underground spring that was developed and utilized by indigenous people as a water source for agriculture. The site is considered sacred by the Yavapai people, who mark it as the place where their people originally emerged into the world.

The nearly 400 feet wide well typically maintains its water volume even during times of drought. There is archaeological evidence that the Southern Sinagua people were using the well as early as 1050 BC. Utilizing a system of irrigation canals, the water was shunted to fields. The canals have been used for irrigation since the 8th century, with sections still in use today.

In Yavapai County, early settlers were also deeply concerned about reliable access to water. Areas with natural springs, intermittent creeks, or a river became attractive places to establish and develop communities. It wasn’t long before reservoirs, or tanks, became a common way to store water for drinking water, agriculture, and ranching. This is a practice still in use today, with over a thousand tanks and reservoirs located throughout the county. As Prescott, AZ, the Yavapai County seat and temporary capital of Arizona grew, so did their water needs. Residents got their first water system in the late 1800s, drilling wells at the four corners of the courthouse plaza, building a reservoir near downtown, and a dam to capture water runoff.

Many of the lakes in the area were originally reservoirs for drinking water or agricultural water reserves. Built in the 1920s, Goldwater Lake began as a reservoir created by installing a dam on Bannon Creek to provide drinking water for Prescott’s growing population. It has since become a favorite recreation area. Currently, Prescott’s water supply comes from seven production wells that pump groundwater.

In the 1880s, Prescott Valley, AZ was known as Lonesome Valley and was primarily home to cattle ranchers aiming to feed the influx of people moving into the area. When gold was discovered in nearby Lynx Creek by the Walker Party, miners soon followed. One of the early industrial uses of water in the area was the hydraulic gold mining operation owned by Thomas Gibson Barlow-Massicks.

Incorporated in 1978, Prescott Valley meets its current water needs via an aquifer located under the town that stretches from Chino Valley in the north, Prescott in the south, Granite Mountain to the west and Mingus Mountain in the east known as the Prescott Active Management Area (AMA) Groundwater Basin. This aquifer holds about 2.9 million acre-feet of water. Approximately 17,000 acre-feet are pumped from the aquifer each year.

Part of the way the town has been able to do this in the face of significant population growth is because of the reduction of irrigated agricultural operations, as well as tiered water usage fees, and water conservation efforts.

Water has always been a crucial resource in Arizona and will continue to be for the foreseeable future. Making sure the residents and businesses of Central Arizona have access to the water needed is a priority for the cities, towns, and communities in the area. From the state level to the local, continued excellent water management is required and the region is motivated to make sure it does just that.