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Water Storage

  • Storage Facility Types
  • Storage Facilities

Storage Facilities

Water Bank Storage Facilities

The Arizona Water Banking Authority (AWBA) partners with several water storage facilities and holds water storage permits with ADWR at each of these facilities. The Bank stores water at Underground Storage Facilities and Groundwater Savings Facilities within the Phoenix, Pinal and Tucson AMAs. When excess CAP water is available, the Water Bank coordinates with CAWCD for the delivery of these supplies to various storage facilities. The location of storage depends on the availability of funding sources and capacity at each facility.

NEW MAP! - The new Water Bank interactive GIS map includes more details on each facility and includes a feature to download the dataset. 

Phoenix AMA

Underground Storage Facilities

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GRUSP
Granite Reef Underground Storage Project (GRUSP)

The Granite Reef Underground Storage Project (GRUSP) was developed in partnership with nine cities to store water from a variety of sources and enable Arizona to maximize the use of its Colorado River entitlement. GRUSP is operated by SRP and owned by Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community, SRP, Chandler, Gilbert, Phoenix, Mesa, Scottsdale and Tempe.

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Agua Fria
Agua Fria Recharge Project (Constructed)

Owned by Central Arizona Water Conservation District. Operations began in May 2002 and construction costs were $10.5 million. Infiltration rates: 2-4 feet per day, Number of basins: 7, Basin infiltration area: 38 acres
Turn-out Type: Gravity 350 cubic feet per second; operated at 150-175 cubic feet per second.
 

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Hassayampa
Hassayampa Managed Recharge Facility

 

 

 

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Hieroglyphic Mountains
Hieroglyphic Mountains Recharge Project

Owned by Central Arizona Water Conservation District. Operations began in January 2003 and construction costs were $5.7 million. Infiltration rates: 3 feet per day, Number of basins: 7, Basin infiltration area: 38 acres, Turn-out Type: Pump 100 cubic feet per second.

 

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Tonopah Desert Recharge Project
Tonopah Desert Recharge Project

Owned by Central Arizona Water Conservation District. Operations began in January 2006 with a construction cost of $13 million. Infiltration rates: 4-5 feet per day, Number of basins: 19, Basin infiltration area: 207 acres, Turn-out type: Gravity turnout 300 cubic feet per second.

 

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Superstition Mountains Recharge
Superstition Mountains Recharge Project

Owned by Central Arizona Water Conservation District. Operations began in June 2011 and construction costs were $10 million. Infiltration rates: 5-6 feet per day, Number of basins: 2, Basin infiltration area: 38 acres, Turn-out Type: Pump 150 cubic feet per second.

 

 

 

 

Groundwater Savings Facilities

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Chandler Heights Citrus
Chandler Heights Citrus Irrigation District

Founded in the 1920's, Chandler Heights Citrus Irrigation District is a 1,460 acre area of Maricopa County, southeast of Phoenix, Arizona. The district is responsible for supplying irrigation and drinking water to over nine hundred households in the district. There are still commercial citrus groves in operation, but now the majority of the district is residential. 

 

 

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Maricopa Water District
Maricopa Water District

The Maricopa Water District (MWD) started in 1927, as a political subdivision and an irrigation and water conservation district. MWD provides water to service an area of approximately 60 square miles. The lands within MWD which are still in agricultural production are cropped with cotton, vegetables, fruits, citrus, grapes, and grain.

 

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New Magma IDD
New Magma Irrigation & Drainage District

New Magma Irrigation & Drainage District (NMID) began in June 1995 and is located West of Phoenix, between Queen Creek and the Gila River in Maricopa and Pinal Counties, Arizona. It is composed of 27,410 acres, of which 26,900 are irrigable acres. 

 

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Queen Creek
Queen Creek Irrigation & Drainage District

Constructed in 1985, the Queen Creek Irrigation and Drainage District (QCIDD) services nearly all of the city of Queen Creek and its neighboring areas; as well as supplementing the Chandler Heights Citrus irrigation. QCIDD stretches east from Power Road to Schnef Road, and south from Germann Road to Hunt Highway, encompassing around 23,000 acres, 16,000 acres of which are irrigable. 

 

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Farm
Salt River Project GSF

Large municipal water providers in the Phoenix AMA participate in SRP’s Groundwater Savings Facility. Water providers deliver Central Arizona Project water from the Colorado River to SRP in lieu of pumping groundwater.

 

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Roosevelt Water Conservation District
Roosevelt Water Conservation District

Roosevelt Water Conservation District (RWCD) is an irrigation district located just to the south and east of Chandler and Gilbert. RWCD began in the 1930 when it paid the costs to concrete line 31 miles of SRP’s major canals and received SRP surface waters that would otherwise have been lost to seepage from dirt canals. In 1992, RWCD became one of the first irrigation districts to recharge excess Colorado River water.

 

 

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Tonopah Irrigation District
Tonopah Irrigation District

Tonopah Irrigation District is located in Tonopah, Arizona, the western most portion of the Phoenix AMA.
 

 

 

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Gila River Irrigation District
Gila River Indian Irrigation & Drainage District (Phx)

The Gila River Indian Community (GRIC) is an Indian reservation located in south central Arizona and spans both the Phoenix and Pinal Active Management Areas. It borders the south side of the city of Phoenix and stretches into Pinal and Maricopa County. 
 

Pinal AMA

Groundwater Savings Facilities

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Central Arizona Irrigation District
Central Arizona Irrigation & Drainage District

Central Arizona Irrigation & Drainage District (CAIDD) was formed in 1996 and is located in and around Eloy, Arizona. CAIDD is composed of 87,586 acres.

 

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Hohokam Irrigation District
Hohokam Irrigation District

Hohokam Irrigation & Drainage District (HIDD) was formed in 1972 and is located Northeast of Casa Grande, southwest of Coolidge in Pinal County, Arizona. It is composed of 29,600 acres, of which 28,200 are irrigable acres.

 

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Maricopa Stanfield Irrigation District
Maricopa Stanfield Irrigation & Drainage District

Maricopa Stanfield Irrigation & Drainage District (MSIDD) formed in 1962 to provide irrigation water for agricultural use. The District is located in Pinal County, Arizona just west of Casa Grande, AZ. The irrigation system involves over 200 miles of distribution concrete-lined canals and laterals. MSIDD receives its surface water from the Central Arizona Project (CAP).

 

 

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Gila River Irrigation District
Gila River Indian Irrigation & Drainage District (Pinal)

The Gila River Indian Community (GRIC) is an Indian reservation located in south central Arizona and spans both the Phoenix and Pinal Active Management Areas. It borders the south side of the city of Phoenix and stretches into Pinal and Maricopa County. 

 

TUCSON AMA

Underground Storage Facilities

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Avra Valley Recharge Project
Avra Valley Recharge Project

 

 

 

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Central Avra Valley Storage and Recovery Project
Central Avra Valley Storage and Recovery Project

The Central Avra Valley Storage and Recovery Project (CAVSARP) includes 11 recharge basins and totals 317 acres. It is located west of Tucson in Avra Valley. The City of Tucson purchased this land in the 1970s with the intent of retiring the property from agricultural use. In the mid-1990s, Tucson Water began storing Colorado River water via the Central Arizona Project (CAP) canal.

 

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Pima Mine Road
Pima Mine Road Recharge Project

Owned by Central Arizona Water Conservation District. Operations began in December 2001 with a construction cost: $11 million. Infiltration rates: 1.9 to 5.8 feet per day, Number of basins: 5, Basin infiltration area: 23 acres, Turn-out Type: Gravity 90 cubic feet per second.

 

 

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Lower Santa Cruz Recharge Project
Lower Santa Cruz Recharge Project

Owned by Central Arizona Water Conservation District. Operations began in June 2000 with a construction cost of $3.9 million. Infiltration rates: 2.5 feet per day, Number of basins: 3, Basin infiltration area: 38 acres, Turn-out Type: Pump 65 cubic feet per second, Annual permitted volume: 50,000 acre-feet.

 

 

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Southern Avra Valley Storage and Recovery Project
Southern Avra Valley Recharge Project

Southern Avra Valley Storage And Recovery Project (SAVSARP) includes 9 recharge basins and totals 226 acres. It is a sister project to the Central Avra Valley Storage and Recovery Project, owned and operated by Tucson Water to fully utilize Tucson’s allocation of Colorado River water. 
 

 

 

 

 

Groundwater Savings Facilities

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Cortaro Marana Irrigation District
Cortaro-Marana Irrigation District

Cortaro-Marana Irrigation District (CMID) serves the agricultural irrigation needs of the Marana, Avra Valley and Cortaro communities. The District owns approximately 65 miles of pipelines and concrete canals, providing irrigated water to more than 12,000 acres of farmland.

 

 

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Kai Farms
Kai Farms (Red Rock)

 

 

 

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BKW Farms
BKW Farms




 

AWBA Long Term Storage Credits

Water Bank Long Term Storage Credits (thru December 2021)

Recharge FacilityAWBA LTS Credits (12/31/21)
PHOENIX AMA IntrastateInterstateTotal
USFGRANITE REEF UNDERGROUND STORAGE PROJECT       412,592      412,592
 AGUA FRIA RECHARGE PROJECT (MANAGED & CONSTRUCTED)       120,715        2,242     122,957
 HASSAYAMPA RECHARGE FACILITY            1,276           1,276
 HIEROGLYPHIC MOUNTAINS RECHARGE PROJECT        121,560      121,560
 TONOPAH DESERT RECHARGE PROJECT        461,981      51,009     512,990
 SUPERSTITION  MOUNTAINS RECHARGE PROJECT          36,558         36,558
  Sub Total   1,154,682     53,251  1,207,934
GSFCHANDLER HEIGHTS CITRUS IRRIGATION DISTRICT           4,517           4,517
 MARICOPA WATER DISTRICT         47,916         47,916
 NEW MAGMA IRRIGATION & DRAINAGE DISTRICT       354,425        2,850     357,275
 QUEEN CREEK IRRIGATION & DRAINAGE DISTRICT       118,458        3,449     121,907
 SALT RIVER PROJECT          85,358         85,358
 ROOSEVELT WATER CONSERVATION DISTRICT       117,291      117,291
 TONOPAH IRRIGATION DISTRICT           3,816           471          4,288
 GILA RIVER INDIAN  IRRIGATION & DRAINAGE DISTRICT - PHX          88,313         88,313
  Sub Total      820,094       6,770     826,864
 Total Storage   1,974,777      60,021  2,034,798
PINAL AMA     
GSFCENTRAL AZ IRRIGATION & DRAINAGE DISTRICT       238,650   117,514     356,165
 HOHOKAM  IRRIGATION DISTRICT       398,447      71,427     469,873
 MARICOPA STANFIELD  IRRIGATION & DRAINAGE DISTRICT       397,010   251,300     648,310
 GILA RIVER INDIAN  IRRIGATION & DRAINAGE DISTRICT - PINAL          17,077         17,077
 Total Storage   1,051,184   440,241  1,491,425
TUCSON AMA    
USFAVRA VALLEY RECHARGE PROJECT         64,173        1,315        65,488
 CENTRAL AVRA VALLEY STORAGE & RECOVERY PROJECT         90,444        4,717        95,161
 PIMA MINE RD RECHARGE PROJECT       120,884      31,028     151,912
 LOWER SANTA CRUZ RECHARGE PROJECT       257,403      73,930     331,333
 SOUTHERN AVRA VALLEY STORAGE & RECOVERY PROJECT        156,909      156,909
  Sub Total      689,813   110,990     800,804
 ASARCO            8,129           8,129
GSFCORTARO-MARANA IRRIGATION DISTRICT         17,479        1,425        18,904
 KAI FARMS          14,948        1,168        16,116
 BKW FARMS            3,066           3,066
  Sub Total        43,622        2,593        46,215
 Total Storage       733,435   113,584     847,019
Total   3,759,395   613,846  4,373,241
Arizona State Seal
Arizona Water Banking Authority
1110 W Washington Street Suite 310
Phoenix, AZ 85007
Phone: (602) 771-8487
Fax: (602) 771-8685

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