The Verde River is 2,500,000 years old, but the Big Chino pipeline could destroy it in decades. “The Big Chino Pipeline VS the Verde River,” explained how legally authorized groundwater pumping in the Big Chino Valley threatens the upper Verde River. Using the best available science, presenter Gary Beverly spelled out why the upper Verde River is one of the most valuable public resources in the southwest.

The presentation integrates geology, hydrology, cultural history, ecology, economics, and public policy into a story about the past and future of the Verde River. The proposed pipeline project would import water from the Big Chino Valley into the Prescott Active Management to support growth and development. This would devastate the upper Verde River and diminish the few existing incentives for Prescott and Prescott Valley to conserve our aquifer for future generations. The pipeline can supply 50,000 or more additional houses, and over 100,000 additional population – a gift to wealthy landowners and developers that is, once again, being actively pursued by Prescott and Prescott Valley.

Population growth in Paulden and expanded agricultural irrigation also threaten the river, which has recently declined to record low flows. Protecting the river is a regional responsibility, and there are regional solutions.