Highlights
- Peoria is spending $40 million to drill three new groundwater wells, each expected to yield 5 million to 7 million gallons per day.
- The Central Arizona Project supplies about 60% of Peoria's water; the wells are designed to offset anticipated cuts to that allocation.
- The under-construction Amkor semiconductor facility, projected to open in 2028, will draw roughly 3 million gallons a day from the city's reclaimed water system.
- One well is already drilled; two remain in state permitting. The city says it has 10 years of underground storage credits banked.
Peoria is committing $40 million to drill three new groundwater recovery wells as the city braces for cuts to its Central Arizona Project allocation, which currently accounts for about 60% of its water supply, KTAR reported Wednesday.
Deputy water services director Daniel Kiel told KTAR News 92.3 FM that the city saw the risk coming. "A few years ago, we recognized that was likely on the horizon. And we decided that our solution to dealing with those potential cuts would be to drill more groundwater recovery wells," he said.
Each well reaches 1,500 feet and is designed to produce between 5 million and 7 million gallons per day. One is already drilled; two are working through state permitting. The Salt River supplies roughly 20% of Peoria's water, with the remainder coming from groundwater.
The project also anticipates demand from the Amkor semiconductor packaging facility now under construction. The plant, which will package microchips from the TSMC Arizona campus in north Phoenix, is projected to open in 2028 and is expected to consume about 3 million gallons a day at full operation. Kiel said 100% of that demand will be met through the city's reclaimed water system rather than its drinking water supply, offsetting pressure on potable reserves.
Peoria had 206,000 residents in 2025, up more than 15,000 from the 2020 Census, according to the city's website. The city says it has accumulated roughly 10 years of underground storage credits and has been recharging groundwater using surplus CAP water. Kiel described the strategy as storing water for future recovery: the city recharges the aquifer with leftover CAP water, then pulls it back out through recovery wells when needed.
The azfamily.com and KJZZ have both tracked Peoria's water-security planning as Colorado River pressure has mounted across the Valley.
What is the status of Peoria's three new groundwater wells?
One of the three 1,500-foot wells is already drilled and operational; the remaining two are in the permitting process with the state of Arizona. Each well is expected to produce 5 million to 7 million gallons of water per day once online.
Kiel said the city feels it is ahead of the curve: "We feel we're ahead of the game. We're doing what we can from a preparation standpoint to be ready for any potential cuts and to also be able to continue to grow." No completion timeline for the two remaining wells was disclosed in the KTAR report.
Sources
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- ktar.com retrieved 13/05/2026 12:15
Authored by The Scottsdale Signal. Drafted by AI from primary-source material under our beat-specific editorial guides; reviewed by humans before publish under our five-gate process. Sources retrieved at 13/05/2026 12:15. Every claim traces to a source.
