The Town of Queen Creek has been working for nearly 10 years implementing a strategic vision for the Town’s water future, creating a more diversified water supply.
In 2025, the Town purchased 500,000-acre feet of water (over 100 years) from Harquahala Valley, providing a proof of concept for this source of water. Harquahala Valley is a water storage basin designated by the State for transportation to other areas. The proof of concept included a hydrology study that demonstrated there is 8.2 million acre-feet of water available for transport over 100 years.
In late 2025, the Town approved funding an additional 1.2-million-acre feet of water using Certificates of Participation (COP) and Water Infrastructure Finance Authority (WIFA) for an amount not to exceed $250 million.
The COPs were sold on Jan. 15, 2026. Deputy Town Manager and Finance Director Scott McCarty shared the results of the sale were overall favorable. “The first 30 years were more favorable for the Town and the last 10 years were slightly less favorable than anticipated - ultimately it was a net positive for the Town. The COPs sold with a term of 40 years, an interest rate of 4.9% and annual debt service of $12.1 to $14.8 million. This funding mechanism was specifically recommended due to the debt service better matching the life of the asset.”
In preparation for the COP sale, they were rated by Standard & Poor’s (S&P) and Fitch Ratings, leading providers of credit ratings. Both rating agencies assigned a ‘AA’ rating to the Town ’s COP, and affirmed the Town’s Issuer Credit Rating (ICR) at ‘AA+’, one notch below the highest possible rating, with a stable outlook.
“It has been incredible to be part of the Town’s water strategy over the years,” stated Queen Creek Mayor Julia Wheatley. “This is our second purchase from Harquahala - the first one took seven years, and it really paved the way for securing this unique water asset. I continue to be impressed with this Council’s commitment to a secure future and effective government, and our ability to act quickly to secure the lowest cost of water. This really is a significant step towards water self-sufficiency and certainty.”
Water Strategy
Queen Creek has ample groundwater - replenishing it is expensive. Groundwater removed from the aquifer must be replenished in accordance with the 1980 Arizona Groundwater Management Act. To comply with this mandate, most of Queen Creek’s water customers are members of and pay fees to the Central Arizona Groundwater Replenishment District (CAGRD), which is included in their property tax bill (properties developed prior to 1996 are exempt).
Queen Creek water customers who are CAGRD members may not be aware of the full cost of these fees, as the Town of Queen Creek has been utilizing water credits to offset these costs for its customers since 2018. This was a result of Council resolutions to reduce costs to customers as an interim measure, with the ultimate goal of water self-sufficiency to manage costs locally and not depend on local groundwater pumping. Depending on the year the subdivision was developed, these costs were reduced anywhere from 33% to 100% - saving Queen Creek water customers approximately $58 million since 2018. This was an interim measure until the Town became a designated water provider; the Town cannot continue to offset CAGRD for water customers indefinitely.
Funding the Water Purchase
When the Town becomes a designated water provider, any remaining replenishment fee will be paid directly by the Town. And with the additional water sources, there will be significantly less local groundwater pumping, meaning less replenishment requirements. The Town will pay for the water sources by creating a water resource fee that will replace the existing CAGRD replenishment fee that 88% of water customers are currently assessed.
The Town will not implement the water resource fee until CAGRD assessments are eliminated for water customers, anticipated for early 2027. When the Town becomes designated and implements a resource fee (in place of CAGRD), any current exemptions would be eliminated. While the structure of the Town’s resource fee is still being evaluated, it will apply to all customers as designation benefits the system as a whole. The resource fee will go through the Town’s public fee setting process.
Becoming a designated water provider is the next step in the Town’s development, like establishing a fire department in 2008, establishing a police department in 2022 and now securing QC’s water future, by becoming a designated water provider. The Town of Queen Creek is committed to securing a more reliable & locally controlled water future.
For more information, visit
QueenCreekAZ.gov/WaterFuture. To watch the meeting, visit
QueenCreekAZ.gov/WatchMeetings.
Media Contact
Constance Halonen-Wilson, Communications & Marketing Manager
480-358-3195
QCPIO@QueenCreekAZ.gov