Water Supply and System Facts

Cave Creek Water System

Drinking water for the Cave Creek Water System begins its journey at the Central Arizona Project (CAP) Canal at Deer Valley Road in Phoenix. Raw surface water is withdrawn from the canal and pumped approximately 12 miles through pipelines to our Water Treatment Plant on Basin Road. At this location, the raw surface water is filtered and treated to remove water turbidity, adjust the water chemistry so that it does not damage existing pipelines, to inject disinfection chemicals to protect the public health and to meet  EPA Drinking Water Standards. Water samples are collected on a weekly, monthly, and annual basis in order to ensure that the system is providing the highest quality water possible.

The Town's major water system components include a surface water treatment plant, storage tanks, booster pumps, valves, pressure regulating equipment, and approximately 100 miles of distribution mains ranging from 2 to 16 inches in diameter.

Below is a map of the water service area throughout Cave Creek and Carefree.

Desert Hills Water System

Drinking water for the Desert Hills Water System begins its journey deep underground in aquifers. Groundwater is withdrawn from the aquifers by three wells and pumped into steel water storage tanks, disinfected to protect the public health and to meet EPA Drinking Water Standards, and then delivered to our customers. 

The Desert Hills Water System is solely dependent on a decreasing groundwater supply and has no other water supplies. To maintain service to existing customers, the Cave Creek Water System supplements the water supply to the Desert Hills area with the Town's treated CAP water which is transferred through an interconnect. 

Below is a map of the water service area throughout Desert Hills. 

Total Water Production

In 2020 , the Cave Creek & Desert Hills Water Systems had the following approximate water delivery to customers:

Water Customers

As of January 2022, the Cave Creek & Desert Hills Water Systems had the following approximate customer base: