The City of Kingman Public Works Department operates a municipal drinking water system that is entirely reliant upon local groundwater as its supply. Like most other Arizona utilities, Kingman faces pressures—or perhaps more accurately, competition—regarding its existing water supplies. The city serves a population of about 50,000 in rural Mohave County, and its only source is water from wells, most of which draw from the aquifer in the southern Hualapai Basin. In the past, the city could be confident that despite a gradual decline in its groundwater resources over the past three decades, it had several centuries of reliable supply available. However, water use by industrial-scale agricultural operations in the Kingman area, a region that has never been farmed in the past, has created widespread concern about the resulting pressure on the Hualapai Basin groundwater supply, which is the city’s principal water source. In this presentation, participants will learn about a number of steps to strengthen its limited water supply. After this session, participants will be able to:
• Identify the components of a well-rounded municipal water resources and conservation program from the perspective of a modest-sized utility.
• Gain perspective on the differing magnitudes of municipal versus agricultural water demands.
• Apply creative solutions to water challenges, even when options appear limited.

Contributor/Source

Doug Kobrick

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