Comments About Water on EC Bar Ranch Estates

 

The following information is NOT A LEGAL OPINION. The information is intended to help generally clarify and explain, but not change or revise, information in the Public Report, Assn CCRs, Assn Rules, and Irrigation Water Management Agreement (IWMA).  These documents take legal precedence over any information herein provided.
 

There are two types of water: Potable and Nonpotable. Potable water may be used for any purpose, including domestic and human consumption. Nonpotable may not be used for human consumption nor piped into any residence.

 

1. Potable Water. There is no municipal water supply, water district, or water provider in Nutrioso. There may be one or more companies that haul potable water for customers. The EC Bar Ranch Estates is a “dry lot subdivision”, which means the only source of domestic potable water is by groundwater supplied by a water well or water acquired elsewhere and delivered to the lot owner.

A.   Water well.

(1)  Rights. Every lot owner has the right to apply to authorities for approval to drill a water well. Some well owners may wish to enter well sharing agreements with others.

(2)  Drillers. There are two well drilling companies that have a good reputation and experience drilling wells in the Nutrioso area. Quest Drilling and R. Davis Drilling, both in Springerville. Richie Davis has drilled wells on the EC Bar Ranch, installed pumps, storage tanks, and brought wells into production. Lot owners are responsible for contacting a driller, filing a request to drill with ADWR, obtaining permits, and developing their own water well.

(3)  Pumps. Subdivision CCR Rules limit the size of a pump that can be installed to ½ (half) horsepower motor. Such a motor can pump water at 5 gallons per minute (GPM) from 100 feet deep. At 1 GPM, 1,440 gallons can be pumped in a 24 hour period; at 5 GPM, 7,200 gallons can be pumped in one day. A typical family of four may use 200 gallons per day on average, with 30% or 60 gallons used for domestic purposes and 70% or 140 gallons used outside the home for irrigation.

(4)  Water development expenses. Water logs from other wells drilled on the EC Bar Ranch indicate groundwater at a depth of 60-100 feet. All holes require casing perforated at the water level above where the pump is set. The cost to drill a 100 ft hole with surface seal, pump, pitless adaptor, valves, wiring, etc, is about $5,000. If more than one hole is needed to find water, the total well development cost may be higher.

(5)  Storage tank. Lot owners may install a water storage tank. CCRs require the tank to be buried in the ground, which helps prevent freezing in winter. A storage tank may be any size, but 2,500 gallons is recommended. Typically, water from a well is pumped into the tank until it is full, then a float switch turns off the well pump. A buried pipe connects the tank to the house. A booster pump at the storage tank raises the pressure in the pipe to about 40-50 lbs. As water is used and the level in the tank falls, the float switch turns on the well pump and refills the tank. Most storage tanks have a gauge to measure the level of water in the tank and a meter to measure the amount of well water pumped out of the tank. The cost to purchase and install a tank is about $3,000.

(6)  Electrical power. A water well pump may be solar powered or use electricity. A booster pump in a storage tank must be electric powered.

B.   Hauling water.

(1)  Lot owners who do not develop a water well, may haul water themselves and/or hire a water hauling service. Generally, a person who hauls water for others has a 2,000 gallon tank on a truck, purchases water in Springerville or Alpine, and charges for their services. This is similar to a propane company, such as Sierra Propane, that periodically delivers propane to a storage tank for a lot owner as the gas is used.

(2)  Once a storage tank is filled, whether by a water well or hauled water, the booster pump supplies water into the house under pressure. A gauge in the tank indicates the water level.

 

2. Nonpotable water.
1. Not for human consumption. Nonpotable water is not suitable nor safe for human consumption. CCRs prohibit non-potable water from being piped into a house.
2. Regulation. The use of potable water is closely regulated by state and county agencies. Nonpotable water is unregulated.
3. Delivery and use. Conditions for use of non-potable water in the EC Bar Ranch Estates subdivision is described in the Irrigation Water Management Agreement (IWMA) and administered by the Property Owners Association (POA). On average, 70% of water used by most families may be nonpotable. All lots have a right to use nonpotable water for irrigation purposes, subject to IWMA.
4. Surface water rights. The EC Bar Ranch has surface water rights that may be used to irrigate 111 acres. A process is underway to allocate a specific number of rights to each lot. When approved, the location of the irrigated acres may allow ½ water right or more to be used by each lot owner. The amount of surface water in one right may be greater than one acre foot, which is 325,900 gallons. The IWMA describes conditions under which lot owners may use water rights.

(1)  Timing. Subject to IWMA, rights may be used during the 155 day irrigation season between April 15 and September 15 each year. Typically, flows are highest in Nutrioso Creek in April, decreasing through the summer. Monsoon rains usually provide natural precipitation in July, August, and September. In theory, if 1 water right was equal to 325,900 gallons, about 2,100 gallons would be available each day. In practice, considerably less water may be available. A typical family uses 140 gallons/day.

(2)  Earth ditches. Subject to IWMA, stream flow may be diverted through a headgate into a pipe and then into an earth ditch, which supplies water by gravity flow. Earth ditches are very inefficient and subject to water loss due to seepage and evaporation.

5. Pipe. Subject to IWMA, a buried pipe may be installed that would supply nonpotable water to each lot after passing through a large water storage tank. The large tank would allow release of water in a timely and efficient manner with delivery by gravity flow. A water pump could be used to boost pressure in the pipe.
6. Water well. Subject to IWMA, one or more water wells owned by the POA may supplement nonpotable water available to each lot.
7. Nonpotable water system. An efficient nonpotable water delivery system may be able to maintain a year around water supply in the large storage tank using surface water, groundwater, and natural precipitation. A booster pump could supply water to a storage tank on each lot under pressure. Lot owners could irrigate and use nonpotable water outside their residence based on their respective share of water rights, subject to the IWMA. While not part of the subdivision nor owned by the POA, the Developer has a 250,000 gallon storage tank, diesel powered 2500 GPM pump, buried pipes, above ground aluminum irrigation pipes, sprinklers, and proven groundwater wells, as illustrated in photos. This existing irrigation system is used to apply water rights to 111 irrigated acres annually. If approved by POA members and the Developer, use of the existing irrigation equipment may be available to lot owners.

 

3. Fire suppression. A large above ground water storage tank, that is always full of water, is a valuable resource in the event of a fire. When the large tank is connected to individual storage tanks on each lot, a fire on one lot would have a ready supply of water as needed by firefighters.

 

4. Water rights and groundwater. While surface water and groundwater appear connected in practice, they don’t share the same legal status. For example, a person must own a water right to divert or use surface flow from Nutrioso Creek for irrigation purposes. Yet any landowner may be able to drill a water well and use groundwater for a beneficial purpose. In the future, surface and groundwater may become legally connected, making it necessary to own a surface right to use groundwater.

 

5. Cost Considerations. Water is an important resource, but has infrastructure and maintenance expenses. This is true for a municipal system, water district, water company, private wells, and water hauling. On the EC Bar Ranch, each lot has a right to use nonpotable water, which may supply 70% of water needs, at a cost relative to the delivery system efficiency. If total consumption includes 30% as potable water, and an average consumption of 60 gallons per day is projected, the monthly water use is 1,800 gallons or 21,600 gallons per year. If the cost to hire a water delivery service is $150 for a 2,000 gallon load, the annual water cost may be $1,620. If the cost to develop a water well was $6,480, it would take 4 years to recover costs. Before drilling a water well, lot owners may choose to haul water for a period of time to help project domestic water consumption.

 

 

 

Photos of existing surface and groundwater irrigation distribution system on the EC Bar Ranch
1. Nutrioso Creek flowing on right, while surface water is diverted through headgate into a pipe (left).	2. Water flows down a pipe (center) and then into a large storage tank (left) or earth ditch (right).
3. Filling storage tank with surface and groundwater.	4. Storage tank filled with 250,000 gallons of water.
5. A 2500-gpm-water pump with 380 HP motor.	6. An 8” mainline and 4” lateral aluminum pipe.
7. Big Gun sprinklers covering 70 acres.	8. Buried pipe supplies water year round.
9. A portable sprinkler attached to a buried pipe.	10. Water wells supplement surface water.