Proper management of water in Central Yavapai County has always been a priority -- now more than ever. Protecting our water resources is vital to the region, and we appreciate your interest in obtaining more information about the Big Chino Water Ranch Project.

Because Yavapai County doesn’t have access to water from the Central Arizona Project, the Arizona Legislature authorized the City of Prescott in A.R.S. §45-555E to withdraw and transport groundwater from the neighboring Big Chino Sub-basin to help meet the current and future water needs of the PrAMA. Based on this law, in 2004 the City of Prescott, in cooperation with the Town of Prescott Valley, invested millions of dollars to purchase the Big Chino Water Ranch in the Big Chino Sub-basin.

Prescott and the Town of Prescott Valley entered into an intergovernmental agreement (IGA) to share the Project’s costs and water supply, with the opportunity for the Town of Chino Valley to opt in to the agreement at any time. The total cost of the Project will likely approach $200 million, primarily because the water must be transported via pipeline to Chino Valley which is located approximately 30 miles Southeast of the Ranch.  The Ranch, itself, is located 20 miles away from the headwaters of the upper Verde River, sufficiently distant to avoid impacts to the Verde River or its habitat.

Despite these efforts to develop and implement this critical Project in a responsible way, well-financed and coordinated big city interests are trying to undermine the Big Chino Water Ranch Project through fear and misinformation, potentially jeopardizing the long-term economic health of the Central Yavapai County region.

The PrAMA communities believe it is important to bring facts, reason and truth back into this discussion. This website is a start. We hope it provides useful information to assist you in understanding the Project’s purpose, and why protecting our water resources is so important to your future.