Five years ago, a proposal to use groundwater near Chino Valley for a hydroelectric facility garnered attention from Verde Valley leaders. The project ended up falling apart but has appeared to rear its head once again.
“This time it’s looking like the people behind have the money to do it,” Clarkdale Mayor Doug Von Gausig said.He said though the project doesn’t directly affect municipalities in the Verde Valley, it would affect the Verde River. gIn September, Big Chino Valley Pumped Storage filed an application for a preliminary permit.
The project is currently before the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.The proposed project is a closed loop with water filling reservoirs. It would consist of an upper and lower reservoir with a 10.1-mile long water conveyance system connecting the two reservoirs, according to documents from FERC.
“Water would be conveyed from the upper reservoir to the lower reservoir via two upper reservoir inlet/outlets, two vertical shafts, two horizontal power tunnels, two penstock manifold tunnels and eight 12-foot-diameter, steel-lined penstocks,” according to documents. Little is known about the details right now but Von Gausig, who has been keeping tabs on the project, said the Big Chino project would affect the flow of the Verde River.
“The concern is that water discharged out of Big Chino is water that won’t be flowed back into the Verde River,” he said.Von Gausig, along with Yavapai-Apache Nation Chairwoman Jane Russell-Winiecki, have been presenting what they know to local municipalities and are asking for their support and assistance should the project prove to be a concern.
“Clarkdale has taken a position that a large part of the economic development opportunities that arise in the Verde Valley arise because of the health of the Verde River,” Von Gausig said. “We don’t want to see that hurt.”
Russell-Winiecki has taken the same position. “As we plan our budgets and make our planning for the Verde Valley in any growth that we want … it’s an issue we need to pay attention to,” she said.
Kelcie Grega can be reached at 634-8551, or email kgrega@larsonnewspapers.com
