Where Does My Water Come From - Cave Creek

Cave Creek's water supply comes from the Colorado River surface water via the Central Arizona Project Canal (CAP). The raw water is pumped through a 12-mile pipeline to the Town's water treatment plant.

The raw Colorado River water is transported through the Central Arizona Project (CAP) Canal which is Arizona’s single largest resource for renewable water supplies. The Town has a 16-inch raw water pipeline that extends over 12 miles from the CAP Canal north to the Town’s water treatment plant through a series of four in-line booster stations.

(Top - Colorado River water is sent via the CAP canal. Bottom - PALL water purification system at Cave Creek Water Treatment Plant.)

In 2000, the Town of Cave Creek worked with the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) to complete a source water assessment report. The assessment looked at potential risks to our water sources. The assessment concluded that based on the information available on the settings and the adjacent land uses that are in the specified proximity of the drinking water source(s) to the system, ADEQ has given a high-risk designation regarding the degree to which these public water systems drinking water source(s) are protected. A designation of high risk indicates there may be additional source water protection measures that can be implemented on the local level. This designation does not imply that the source water is contaminated or that contamination is imminent. Rather, it simply states that land use activities or hydrogeological conditions make the source water susceptible to future contamination. At the time of this report, the Town’s water system partially utilized groundwater wells with high arsenic levels. Since purchasing the water system in 2007, the Town has relied solely on surface water supplies from the CAP canal. In 2004, ADEQ completed a source water assessment of the groundwater wells and renewable surface water used by the Town of Cave Creek. The evaluation concluded that the groundwater wells could not be relied upon to provide a reliable long-term water source. Currently, no wells are being used to supply the Town’s drinking water. While the Town does not use groundwater wells, many residents operate private wells. Residents can help protect the groundwater supplies by properly recycling household and automotive chemicals and limiting pesticide and fertilizer use. For more information, please call the Town of Cave Creek at (480) 488-6620 or visit the Source Water Assessment and Protection Unit website at www.azdeq.gov/source-water-protection.