City of Prescott Water Issues Subcommittee Meeting Highlights 7-1-25

A New Pulse Ongoing Series to Keep Prescott Residents "In-the-Know" about city water policy

Welcome to the newest series of articles from your freedom loving, conservative media outlet: Prescott Pulse!

Since water is such a hot button issue here in the high desert of Central Yavapai county, we thought it would be most beneficial to spread the word about what our Water Issues Subcommittee is talking about and passing. The members of the subcommittee are: Mayor Phil Goode, and council members Lois Fruwirth and Ted Gambogi (Ted has been absent for the past 2 subcommittee meetings).

To see upcoming agendas for Water Issues meetings, go to this City of Prescott webpage, and click on the date you want. Here you will find the agenda, meeting ”packet” and minutes if you go to a past meeting. Meeting packets include all slides shown by presenters at the meeting.

Prescott Pulse would like to give kudos to the Prescott Water Resources and Public Works Departments for the innovative work they are doing to help steward Central Yavapai’s water supply! The projects described at most recent subcommittee meeting reflect deep research into cost-effective and practical solutions without embracing “the-sky-is-falling!” fear-mongering over water so prevalent these days.

Below are highlights from presenters at the July 1 meeting, we hope you enjoy reading all the great work this committee is doing, especially with our lakes:

Brian Ruiz, Project Manager in Water Resources Department:

For 1/1/25-6/19/25, the residential and non-residential water budgets were set at 25 acre-feet each. The approvals below will be subject to 2025 impact fee schedule.

• 6 residential projects approved totaling 7.36 acre-feet, leaving 17.64 acre-feet remaining. Includes Bradshaw III Senior Living.

• 8 non-residential projects approved totaling 14.93 acre-feet, with 10.07 acre-feet remaining.

• 23 administratively approved projects from June 1 to June 19, totaling 4.9 acre-feet. Includes Embry Riddle Student Union.

A total of 292 new accounts were added in 2024, with a trend analysis indicating fluctuations in account growth. The 10-year average of yearly new accounts is 356. When the DAWs re-approval application was done, it was assumed 450 new water accounts per year, and actual trends are significantly lower.

Leslie Glazer, a Water Resource Manager:

Prescott's potable water service overlies 4 governmental jurisdictions: City of Prescott, portions of Chino Valley, Yavapai Tribe, and portions of Yavapai County.

• No one at the city knows how much the Yavapai Prescott Indian Tribe Travel Center is anticipating using.

• Non-residential water accounts are 8% of the total number of accounts and use 34% of the water. Councilwoman Lois Fruwirth states: “that's remarkable… [and we need to] integrate this into our economic development plan so we do not get in with folks that are going to cost us lots of money down the road. I think it's something we need to keep an eye on because we need to do economic development, but I'm very worried about the the water.”

• Glazer states: “we’ll have pretty heavy discussions about demand management.” (Note: demand management is how much water residents and businesses need and use.)

Jeremy Cordova, the environmental project manager for City of Prescott Public Works:

The City of Prescott owns 4 reservoirs (lakes): Watson, Willow, and Upper And Lower Goldwater. The Environmental Service Department performs water quality monitoring at every lake every month and reports any concerning water quality metrics to relevant departments. Watson and Willow are Prescott’s primary sources of aquifer recharge water and they suffer from notable water quality concerns.

• Purchased aquatic weed harvesting boat to remove 1,000 pounds of weeds at a time to improve the water quality and clarity.

• Plans to construct a fish barrier that will allow stocking both Watson and Willow with only one barrier and will permit stocking grass carp or white amor, voraciously hungry fish that will eat the weeds out of the lakes at “incredible levels.”

• Building Rock Dams: simple natural water and sediment filters built around the drainages into our lakes. As dirty water drains toward lakes, the sediment in the water will be trapped behind the rocks, which starts sprouting beneficial vegetation, adding additional filtration.

• At Willow Lake initiated a management plan in conjunction with consultant Southwest Decision Resources to address poor water quality, increasing public safety and recreation opportunities, some open space management and fuel reduction, and seeking guidance on handling threatened and endangered species.

• At Watson Lake

  • Deployed the weed harvesting boat twice and removed approximately 1,000 pounds of weeds from the South Boat Launch area at Watson. After boat maintenance, ready after July 4 for regular use.

  • Circulators are functioning

    • Great reduction in the blue green algae and a shift to less harmful, more beneficial algae since installation. No more large accumulations of blue green algae at the shoreline.

    • Just initiated a maintenance plan/remote monitoring system for circulators.

    • Anticipates requesting funding for additional circulators, which are solar powered, quiet and simple, with very low maintenance, and also considering them in Willow Lake.

    • Sundog Wastewater Treatment Plant has been using them for over 10 years, and they have extremely positive feedback, with no algae issues in any of their ponds.

  • Conducting Phosphorus Binding (“EutroSorb” the big treatment recently done on June 1)

    • reduces the nutrients in the lake in order to reduce the blooming algae and weeds to improve water quality and fish habitat, and begins to reduce high pH and raise oxygen level.

    • ADEQ (Arizona Dept. of Environmental Quality) visited the last week of June and said that as a result of this treatment, they don't need to do site visits, and the City can now self report to the state.

    • resulted in removing over 220 pounds of phosphorus from the water.

  • Planning a Larger sediment treatment for October to treat the bottom of the lake to sequester all the phosphorus there.

• Upper Goldwater & Lower Goldwater

  • Detected an issue before it became an impairment: low oxygen and high pH with excess nutrients and are treating all summer through September for muck and phosphorus reduction. Muck accumulates due to organic material washing in during storms and having nowhere to go.

  • Using “Muck Away” and “Pond Clear” (made by Air Max), beneficial bacteria and enzymes and a phosphorus binder to digest the organics at the bottom of the lake.

  • Over a 1 month period, a 45% reduction in phosphorus (the primary trigger of blooming algae), and a 25% improvement in the water clarity.

  • This allows requesting almost double the fish stocking at Goldwater Lakes.

  • Planned aerator installation on the dam (immediately adjacent to the deepest water in the lake) to provide oxygen.

  • Addition of natural sediment and water filters.

Matt Killeen, Environmental Program Manager with the City's Public Works Department:

Green stormwater infrastructure (GSI) captures rainwater and runoff where it falls and mimics natural drainage to subsurface displaced by urban development. “Slow it, spread it, sink it” into a gentle sheet flow rather than energized, channelized flows.

• GSI reduces sitting water on roads to prevent degradation of the roadway and poor driving conditions due to flooding or ice, depending on the season. Think rock covered drainage culverts which support beneficial vegetation.

• The Prescott Public Works Department has been using the Maricopa Association of Government Construction Standards in plan review when working with private developers’ design engineers, and Killeen says we should consider them when working on Prescott code changes, using “our plants and our weather and our patterns.”

• When Mark Holmes and Gary Beverly (CWAG activists) “were here,” Mark referenced that 94% of stormwater runoff or precipitation doesn't get to an aquifer or ”beneficial use” due to evaporation or run off. Killeen says “we are looking forward to “tilting the needle” of that 94% in the near future.”

• Tenney Ranch subdivision funds were partnered with flood control to create the Acker Detention Basin, which pulled up to 100 folks out of the insurance flood zones.

• Prescott went through a grant process (Arizona Water Quality Management Planning Grant, 604) to create a way to evaluate potential sites for their suitability for GSI installation.

  • Focused on city open space properties and city park facilities, due to the ease of integration and building this program.

  • Other properties that are being considered are the airport water reclamation facility and the Sun Dog Waste water treatment plant.

  • For additional locations, “we need to engage the neighborhoods and the neighborhood associations proactively before we put a shovel in the ground so we can help them past these concerns, and they see these structures as valuable.”

  • This program is part of the Fiscal Year 2026 budget process.

• The “rain garden” on the corner of Whipple and Willow Creek across from Yavapai Regional Medical Center: maintenance is a challenge because there must be specific maintenance programs for this type of green infrastructure. The mosquito issues have been addressed through Integrated Pest Management.

• Tucson has an operating GSI program called Storm to Shade. Prescott will borrow a lot of their information in terms of how we maintain these sites.

Leslie Glazer: Related to your long term management plan, “we worked with some stakeholders such as CWAG and, they provided some input, review, grammar check, and they were really wonderful.” The Pulse will pursue becoming one of these stakeholders to help ensure all points of view are heard by the City.

Tracy Beasley, water resource project manager:

• Launched a new online platform and sent out mailer inserts for our updated rebate program.

• Continuing a partnership around grant funding and a rebate program with the Friends of the Verde River. All the projects that Matt Killeen just showed in his presentation could potentially qualify for up to $10,000 of grant money through the Friends of the Verde and if there's an associated City rebate, the individual who's applying for the grant can also apply for our rebates.

In closing, Prescott Pulse applauds the city’s proactive, science-driven approach to water management. From innovative lake treatments and green stormwater infrastructure, to thoughtful development oversight and community engagement, the Water Issues Subcommittee and Prescott’s Public Works and Water Resources teams are laying the foundation for long-term water supply.

As our region continues to grow, it’s clear that Prescott isn’t just reacting to water challenges—it’s leading the way with practical solutions rooted in stewardship, not panic.

Stay tuned for more updates as we continue to spotlight the people and policies working to protect Prescott’s most precious resource: water.