An auction will begin Wednesday to sell the rights to some of Prescott Valley’s treated wastewater so it can be used in new subdivisions.

The treated wastewater won’t flow directly into homes, but will percolate into aquifers, recharging them as wells supply the new homes.

The auction is the first of its kind in this country and will create a new source of water for growth in a part of Arizona that has nearly used up its existing reserves.
Selling the rights to effluent marks a major advance in the use of recycled water, which until now has been limited to irrigating golf courses or parks.

If the auction succeeds, it also could help speed the transformation of water from a public resource to a commodity that is traded, bought and sold on the open market.

Posted: 10|31|06 at 7:17 pm. Filed under: US News.