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Irrigation, or flood irrigation, is the most cost-effective way to deep water your property. Yards are flooded with two to three inches of water that penetrates the ground within about three hours.
Where does the water come from?
SRP brings water from the high country to the desert through a complex system of dams, lakes, canals, laterals, ditches, pipes and valves.
Most of your water originates from SRP's 13,000 square-mile watershed
as rain and snow that drain into the Salt and Verde rivers. The watershed extends from the White Mountains
near the New Mexico border to the Seligman area in north central Arizona.
The runoff from the watershed is collected in six reservoirs: four on the Salt River and two on the Verde River.
SRP's system also includes about 250 deep-well pumps located throughout the Valley that help supplement our surface water supplies.
From the reservoirs to your yard
How does the water get from the reservoirs to your yard? SRP uses the most cost-effective, efficient water transmission method available: gravity. Canal water is moved almost entirely by Mother Nature.
After your water order is placed, we combine it with all other water orders from the Valley, and release the requested amount of water from the storage facility. The water then flows into the seven main canals crossing the Valley.
An SRP employee known as a "Zanjero" (pronounced sahn-hair'-oh) opens a gate to release the water from the canal into a system of smaller waterways called laterals. The lateral brings the water to a specific delivery point where a Zanjero opens SRP's gate, releasing the water into your neighborhood system.
The neighborhood delivery point is the end of the SRP system. From here, the system bringing water to your property is made up of open ditches, underground pipelines, control gates and valves. This system is owned, operated, and maintained by the people who use the system in your neighborhood and is referred to as the "neighborhood system."
You and your neighbors are responsible for seeing that the water gets from the SRP delivery point to your property at the time designated by making sure all gates and controls are set properly, and for keeping the system in good repair.
Tips
- If you are new to irrigation, the best way to learn about your neighborhood system is to talk to your neighbors or if you prefer, one of SRP's Water Delivery Specialists will meet with you for a walk-through of your neighborhood system. You may contact SRP Water Customer Services at (602) 236-3333 to request this free service.
- By knowing your neighborhood system and how it works, you will be able to prevent and solve problems. We encourage you to get to know your neighbors because successful irrigation depends on neighbors communicating and working together.