By Michael Stabile
Our municipal watershed is the only source of potable water for the Town of Patagonia and over 300 private well users within a three-mile radius of town. The recent article in the PRT about the drop in the town’s water table and the subsequent discussion of possible water rationing is a wake up call to all residents of Patagonia.
Water is taken for granted; we all just assume that we will be able to turn the tap and water will flow. Thirteen years of drought and climatologists’ model of drier years to come should affect the way we use this precious resource. We should all do our part to conserve water.
At a recent meeting of the town council it was decided to have a further discussion with town residents on cutting back on their water usage voluntarily. Where else might the Town Council look for water protection? How about opposing industrial mining impacts on the community water supply?
The Rosemont project is projected to use 6,000 acre feet of water per year. That’s almost two BILLION gallons of groundwater. The Sonoran Institute’s water study calculated that the effects of this drawdown of the water table could possibly be felt as far away as Patagonia and could in turn, have a great effect on the Sonoita creek drainage.
Sonoita Creek, part of the Patagonia Municipal Water Supply
The AZ Mining Inc (Wildcat Silver) Hermosa project is located in the headwaters of the Harshaw creek drainage. When AZ Mining Inc / Wildcat Silver’s first Preliminary Economic Assessment was issued for investors, the project covered about 3,000 acres. The project has since grown to 13,666 acres, and the open pit has expanded by at least 30%, according to AZ Mining Inc / Wildcat Silver’s Pre-Feasibility Study released in December 2013. When Chris Jones, AZ Mining Inc / Wildcat Silver’s then CEO, gave a presentation to Patagonia residents in 2010, he said that the water usage would be 450,000-700,000 gallons of water per day. Estimating water usage from AZ Mining Inc / Wildcat Silver’s own formula and data (one-half ton water for each ton of ore processed), the Hermosa open pit mine would potentially consume almost two million gallons of water per DAY. By comparison, the town of Patagonia uses roughly 115,000 gallons of water per day. Even if everyone in town conserves water by 20%, it amounts to only 23,000 gallons per day. It will have very little impact if these mines go into operation.
These two mines would use close to three billion gallons of groundwater per year. The Town should take a stronger stance on the real threat to our water supply. We can conserve all the water we want, but it would be nothing in comparison to the amount of water consumed by proposed mining.
We live in a desert. We are in a drought with long-term scientific forecasts for increasing water shortages. Water is simply the most precious commodity we have. Water is far more precious than a few jobs promised to us.
Michael Stabile was the chairman of Patagonia’s Planning and Zoning commission, and at present is a Board member of PARA. He worked with Patagonia Town Manager David Teel to get the Sonoita Creek and Harshaw Creek drainages designated as the Town of Patagonia Municipal Supply Watershed.
