Water in the Desert -
Where Does It Come From?

Saguaro cacti, rattlesnakes, gila monsters — all of these native inhabitants are specially adapted for life without much water. The only desert dweller without such an adaptation is also the most prolific one — humans.

Beginning in the late 1800’s, settlers in Arizona began to see the enormous potential of the land, if they could only get water to the area. Copying the Native American tribes who diverted river water to cultivate their crops centuries before, modern settlers dug canals to bring water from the Salt, Verde, and Colorado rivers to what we now call the Valley of the Sun. Bringing water from mountain snowfalls to the desert was a very successful way to cultivate crops, and today that same system is used to meet the water needs of over 3 million Valley residents.

Because Peoria began as an agricultural community, today we are fortunate to have the benefit of three separate water supplies — Central Arizona Project water from the Colorado River; Salt River Project water from the Salt and Verde Rivers; and groundwater from wells..

Our diverse water resources assure that water is available during the dry years like those we have experienced recently. Arizona has received very little precipitation in the way of rain and snow pack in the north over the past several years. Little snow in the high country means decreased runoff into the Salt and Verde rivers that provide Peoria with a portion of its water supply.

Peoria’s commitment to building the infrastructure to use our different water supplies — treatment plants, pipelines, and well sites — means that while we are no longer solely dependent on groundwater, we also have the ability to make greater use of a particular water resource when another is not available. In any condition, our quality of life is preserved.