Peoria is going all in on groundwater, moving ahead with a $40 million plan to drill three new recovery wells as the fast-growing city scrambles to keep taps flowing. One of the wells is already in the ground, with two more tied up in state permits. Each is expected to deliver about 5 to 7 million gallons of water per day from roughly 1,500 feet below the surface. City water managers say the wells are a near-term tool to pull stored water credits back out of the aquifer and cover demand spikes tied to new development, while also trimming reliance on shrinking surface water deliveries.
According to KTAR News, Peoria officials say the city has already used up roughly a decade of underground storage credits and decided it was time to drill additional recovery wells to rebuild reserves. The outlet reports that Peoria water official Daniel Kiel described the move as part of a broader recovery strategy and pegged the three-well program at about $40 million. City leaders told the station they are trying to juggle immediate recovery needs with longer-term plays such as advanced water purification and regional interconnections. One well is complete, KTAR reports, while the other two are still working through the state permitting maze.
Why the Wells Are Coming Online Now
The timing is driven by both local growth and wider Colorado River strain. The Central Arizona Project currently supplies about 60% of Peoria’s water, which leaves the city exposed to river cuts and price volatility. Cronkite News has outlined how Valley cities are increasingly leaning on banked groundwater and big-ticket infrastructure as river flows drop. Peoria is also bracing for new industrial demand, including an Amkor advanced-packaging campus that the company has said will start production in 2028. Planners say that kind of growth raises the stakes for on-site and recycled supplies.
Well Specs and Buildout Timeline
City materials and reporting describe the projects as deep recovery wells designed to tap stored credits and specific aquifer zones that can be pumped without harming nearby users. KTAR News reports that each well is expected to produce roughly 5 to 7 million gallons per day and extend to around 1,500 feet below ground, with construction phased in as permits and monitoring conditions are met. The first well was finished after crews sited the location and drilled a pilot hole. The remaining two need state approval before full buildout can begin. Officials say they will rely on monitoring data and modeling to track how much stored water can legally be recovered without triggering negative impacts.
Banked Water, Recharge and the Fine Print
For years, Peoria has been recharging excess CAP deliveries and treated effluent into underground storage, building long-term storage credits that can be used in dry times. Those credits, however, are tightly governed by accounting and recovery rules. The Arizona Water Banking Authority reports on long-term storage credit exchanges, and Peoria’s Integrated Water Utility Master Plan spells out how recharge facilities, accounting systems and recovery procedures work, along with why dedicated recovery wells are required to access banked water. Staff have warned that faster drawdowns will also mean more complicated routing, new or upgraded pump stations and possibly additional pipelines to move recovered water to where customers actually are.
Permitting Hurdles and Legal Guardrails…