Phoenix AMA Cultural Water Demand

Cultural water demand data including population, number of wells and the average well pumpage and non-groundwater use by the municipal, industrial and agricultural sectors are shown in Table 8.1-10.  Effluent generation including facility ownership, location, population served and not served, volume treated, disposal method and treatment level is shown in Table 8.1-11.  Figure 8.1-12 shows the location of demand centers.  A description of cultural water demand data sources and methods is found in Volume 1, Appendix A.  More detailed information on cultural water demands is found in Section 8.0.7.

Cultural Water Demands

• Refer to Table 8.1-10 and Figure 8.1-12.
• Population increased from 1.47 million in 1980 to 3.1 million in 2000 and projections suggest an increase to almost seven million residents by 2030.
• Historically, agricultural water use has been the major demand in the Phoenix AMA; however, it has been steadily declining over time. At the same time, municipal and industrial demands are increasing. Average annual municipal demand in 2001-2005 increased by 39% over the previous decade. 
• During 2001-2005 approximately 46% of the total AMA cultural water demand was municipal and 47% of the total demand was agricultural.
• The industrial sector accounted for approximately 7% of the total annual AMA water demand in the same time period.
• As of 2005 there were 13,535 registered wells with a pumping capacity of less than or equal to 35 gpm and 10,683 wells with a pumping capacity of more than 35 gpm.

Effluent Generation

• Refer to Table 8.1-11.
• 92 wastewater treatment facilities were identified in this AMA.
• The largest treatment facility in the planning area is the 91st Avenue Treatment Plant operated by the City of Phoenix. It serves over 1.2 million people.
• There are a wide range of effluent disposal methods in the AMA, with some of the most common being: discharge into an open water-course, golf course irrigation, permitted recharge, industrial reuse and crop irrigation.
• More than 324,000 acre-feet of effluent is treated/produced annually.
• Palo Verde Nuclear Power Plant reuses approximately 60,000 acre feet of effluent a year. 

Figure 8.1-12 Phoenix AMA Cultural Water Demands

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