Water Resources
Water Supply
The Town of Florence holds a 100-year Assured Water Supply designation from the Arizona Department of Water Resources. This designation proves the Town’s ability to physically, legally, and financially supply potable water to all customers within our service area.
Florence’s water portfolio consists of groundwater, surface water from the Central Arizona Project, long-term storage credits, and extinguishment credits. These resources are carefully managed for current and future use.
The Town of Florence owns and operates six groundwater wells to meet the needs of our residents. Today, Florence meets all potable water demands through the pumping of groundwater. Groundwater is easily accessible, faces fewer opportunities for contamination, and retains high water quality due to the Earth’s natural filtering processes.
In 2022, just under 1.4 million gallons of water were used daily in the Florence service area. The Town of Florence has seen a steady decline in groundwater usage over the years despite population growth. Today, we are using almost 20% less water than we were ten years ago. This decrease in groundwater pumping is due to infrastructure improvements and voluntary conservation measures from residents.
The Town of Florence is expected to see a large growth in population as new housing developments and businesses are added to our service area. To learn more about how the Town of Florence plans to continue conserving our groundwater, visit our page on water conservation.
The Town of Florence receives surface water from the Central Arizona Project (CAP). The CAP canal supplies water from the Colorado River to populations in Pinal, Maricopa, and Pima counties.
Surface water requires advanced treatment to meet all drinking water requirements outlined in the Safe Drinking Water Act. All CAP water received by the Town of Florence is recharged back into our aquifer to replenish groundwater usage and create long-term storage credits that can be used by the Town at a later date or in an emergency.
Long-term storage credits are created when water is stored underground for more than one year. The Town of Florence earns long-term storage credits by recharging surface water received by the Central Arizona Project back into our aquifer.
Extinguishment credits are created when a grandfathered groundwater right is extinguished. These credits represent the amount of groundwater that can be withdrawn and may be pledged to a designation of assured water supply.