There is a critical need to develop water management programs to preserve
future water supplies for non‐irrigation uses in the Pinal AMA, while Increased
comprehensive planning and program efforts are needed to ensure a reliable
and sustainable supply of water for municipal and industrial uses.
Groundwater use by industrial users has increased rapidly and may continue to
increase. Industrial groundwater use needs to be limited to an annual amount
that is consistent with the need to preserve future water supplies for non‐
irrigated uses.
Need for regional recharge and recovery planning in the Pinal AMA to minimize
the impacts of lack of physical availability of groundwater, excessive
groundwater‐level decline rates, and land subsidence.
Managing the rules for the Pinal AWS that allows a certain volume of
groundwater to be used that is considered consistent with the overall AMA goal.
In the Phoenix, and Tucson AMAs, the primary management goal is safe‐yield by the year
2025, meaning no more groundwater is being withdrawn than is being replaced annually.
The Phoenix AMA is within the JLUS Project Area (northern portion of FMR training
areas).
The Town of Florence has two water systems that can run independently from one
another. The water systems have a total of six groundwater wells, along with a
2.5‐million‐gallon water storage capacity. The systems service an average of
2,650 locations including a portion of FMR. The Florence water system provides potable
water for the FMR cantonment area. The Town of Florence also produces reclaimed
water from its two wastewater treatment plants and uses it to supply irrigation water to
golf courses and farms. The Florence Comprehensive Plan notes that the Town receives
surface water from the Central Arizona Project, however the water received is used to
recharge acquirers and not directly for water supplies.
While there may be minimal concern currently for water resources at the FMR, the Pinal
County Comprehensive Plan notes population projections for Pinal County indicate that a
population at buildout could reach six million people. This would represent between
840,000 to 1,700,000 annual acre‐feet of new water demand in the County. The Plan
highlights the importance of the County being included in efforts by Arizona to identify
future sources of new water supplies to ensure availability to users, including FMR.
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Compatibility Assessment