Noel Carter of Buckeye Water Conservation and Drainage District: Protecting a Way of Life in Arizona

Noel Carter of Buckeye Water Conservation and Drainage District: Protecting a Way of Life in Arizona’s Buckeye Valley

Noel Carter, general manager of the Buckeye Water Conservation and Drainage District.

Noel Carter, the general manager of Buckeye Water Conservation and Drainage District (BWCDD), is dedicated to protecting valuable water resources for farmers in the same area where his ancestors homesteaded and developed farm land in the late 1890s, attracted by the 1885 Buckeye Canal. In sprawling Phoenix nearby, legislators and state agencies are eyeing his district’s water as tiered shortages are declared on the Colorado River. In this interview, Mr. Carter talks to Irrigation Leader about how the district fights waterlogging and alkali from below and competing interests from all sides.

Irrigation Leader: Please tell us about your background and how you came to be in your current position.

Noel Carter: My family homesteaded and farmed in the Buckeye Valley in the late 1890s. They ended up moving to a cattle ranch in Snowflake in northern Arizona before returning in the mid‐1970s. I was born in the town of Buckeye but grew up in the Pacific Northwest. I came back to Buckeye in 2001 and then moved to Flagstaff, where I ended up logging. Then, I went into heavy civil construction. In 2017, I took the position of general manager of the BWCDD. Today, I strive to serve the constituents of this district and to protect their valuable water resource. This job brings my family history back full circle.

Irrigation Leader: Are your family members still involved in irrigated agriculture in Arizona?

Noel Carter: Yes; I have some extended family that is still in irrigated agriculture in my district.

Irrigation Leader: Tell us about your district and its history and current services.

Noel Carter: The Buckeye Canal was founded in 1885 and was connected to the Hassayampa River in late 1886. From the time of its completion, the Buckeye Canal changed owners or management several times before 1907, when the Buckeye Irrigation Company was formed and took over ownership and management of all the delivery infrastructure: the main canal, the south extension canal, and all the lateral systems. November 14, 1917, arguably one of the most important dates in the history of the canal, was when Judge R. C. Stanford ruled and adopted what is known as the Benson-Allison Decree, which provided all the rights to surface water the district has today.

In 1917–1918, the farmers started noticing really high water tables and waterlogging in the ground below their farms, which was causing big issues with crop production, in part because of leaching restrictions and heavy alkali concentrations in the soil. The farmers established the BWCDD in 1922 to relieve waterlogging within the district boundaries. They engineered and constructed several miles of drainage system. Then, they worked with the Buckeye Irrigation Company to manage the delivery infrastructure, wells, drainage systems, and laterals. In 2005, BWCDD took complete ownership and control of the canal system.

Four automated Rubicon FlumeGate structures in BWCDD's main canal, adjacent to the diversion to the south extension canal.

Irrigation Leader: Where does the district’s surface water come from?

Noel Carter: The surface water derives primarily from two sources: our effluent contract with the City of Phoenix and our vested rights on the Salt, Verde, Aqua Fria, and Gila Rivers, which are all diverted at our canal heading, downstream of the confluence of the four rivers.

Irrigation Leader: Would you describe the main elements of your system?

Noel Carter: We own and maintain 23 miles of main canal; 7½ miles of south extension canal; and 14 miles of drainage ditch, which serve to relieve the waterlogging issue and to drain tailwater. We have about 200 miles of lateral ditch, 9 drain wells, and 54 production wells. So we have not just surface water rights but grandfathered groundwater irrigation rights as well.

BWCDD board members during a January 2021 retirement party for Steve Bales, who served as a director for 45 years. From left to right: W. T. Gladden, Ron Rayner, Steve Bales (retired), Larry Vanderwey, Jason Hardison, Rick Ladra (retired), and Trevor Bales.

Irrigation Leader: Who are your customers?

Noel Carter: We have 54 agricultural customers whose primary crops are alfalfa, barley, corn, cotton, sorghum, and wheat. Although 99 percent of our water goes to agriculture, we also serve 300 residential customers for watering lawns. We deliver an average of 118,000 acre-feet per calendar year.

Irrigation Leader: You provide farmers with power as well as water. Do you generate your own power?

Noel Carter: Currently, we do not generate our own energy. We’ve been working with Emrgy for the last 3 years on how to integrate its low-head hydro systems into our canal to generate energy most effectively for us. Our current sources of power are Hoover Dam and power purchase agreements with the Southwest Public Power Agency.

Irrigation Leader: How does BWCDD protect farmland from alkali damage?

Noel Carter: BWCDD lies in what is called the exempted area or the Buckeye Waterlogged Area. We’re exempt from the operational criteria of the Active Management Area, so we are able to put more water across our fields than would otherwise be allowed under the 1980 Groundwater Management Act. We do that because we need to be able to leach that alkali down and get it below the root zone. To that point, our drainage wells are a crucial part of managing the waterlogged area. We operate these wells 24/7 to keep the water table at a safe level below the root zone for optimal leaching and drainage. If the wells are not operated, the alkali will not properly leach, posing a high risk of crop damage.

Irrigation Leader: Does urbanization pose a challenge to your district?

Noel Carter: It’s a big one. Nine times out of 10, when a developer comes in and wants to build something, it affects our infrastructure. We’re constantly having to relocate or modify our delivery infrastructure to meet the needs of developers. However, we’re affected by growth not just in the district but around it. That’s because in order to build a development in Arizona, you’ve got to have a water supply. There are shortages on the Colorado River right now, which is causing people to look elsewhere for water. And because of the nature of our district in the exempted area, even though we have brackish water, people are trying to figure out how they can take water out and treat it. We’re trying to protect our livelihoods, which means protecting our water. If people start withdrawing our water to treat it and take it elsewhere, we are not going to be able to preserve our exempted status, which in turn won’t allow us to put the volumes of water on our crops that we’re currently using. We’ve learned to manage the land in this area, and we understand it, but if we lose our exemption and lose our water supply, we’re going to be in a bad spot.

The bottom end of BWCDD's south extension canal.

Irrigation Leader: So developers are actually trying to get water from your area and send it to a city like Phoenix?

Noel Carter: That’s exactly what they’re looking at: putting a desalinization plant somewhere so they can pull the water from our exempted area, send it to a treatment plant, and then send it off to other cities. Recently, the Arizona Department of Water Resources proposed a change to the recovery well requirements in the fifth management plan that would allow recovery wells to be placed in areas of shallow groundwater if the recovery well applicant had a recharge well located anywhere within the Phoenix Active Management Area. Pumping water outside the impact area of a recharge well is not how we need to manage the aquifer. We had a lot of support in fighting that proposed change, and we ultimately succeeded in having it removed from the fifth management plan.

Irrigation Leader: What are your other top issues today?

Noel Carter: The rising cost of power is always one of them. The markets are kind of crazy right now, especially on the gas side. Trying to figure out how to effectively serve our customers at the best rate is always a challenge. Aging and failing infrastructure is another challenge. Our system is earth lined for the most part, our laterals excluded. Our main canal and south extension canal are primarily earth lined, and they are 136 years old. We need to do some infrastructure modernization. I’m trying to get grants to improve that infrastructure, which ultimately will improve our delivery efficiency. Efficiency is the key in protecting our water and preserving our source. That’s another thing we’re trying to focus on right now: completing a system optimization study to provide data for infrastructure grant processes.

W. T. Gladden, president of the BWCDD board of directors.

Irrigation Leader: What is your vision for the future of the district?

Noel Carter: We are currently working on a long-term strategic plan. The goal is for the district and other municipal or irrigation entities in the Buckeye Valley to all work together on a long-term strategic water management plan. As our agricultural land is developed and retired, BWCDD can provide surface water through an exchange process for municipal entities in the Buckeye Valley.

Noel Carter is the general manager of the Buckeye Water Conservation and Drainage District in Maricopa County, Arizona. For more about the district, visit www.bwcdd.com.