City of Willcox works to build water redundancy

For Willcox residents, the city’s water system is being reshaped by a power failure that exposed how dependent the community is on a single corridor. An August storm damaged more than 60 power poles and cut electricity to all three of Willcox’s municipal wells. Because the wells are clustered about 4.5 miles outside the city, the outage affected the entire water supply system at once. The city kept serving residents with water stored in its tanks and asked people to conserve, but officials say the incident demonstrated that Willcox needs another source in a different location.

The city is now searching for a site for a new well roughly 1.5 miles outside the city limits. Unlike the existing wells, the potential site would be connected to a separate power grid. That arrangement could allow the Sulphur Springs Valley Electric Cooperative, or SSVC, to continue supplying electricity to the city’s water operations if a future outage disrupted the line serving the current wells. The project is intended to create redundancy in both water and electricity, giving Willcox another way to keep water flowing during an emergency.

City Manager Caleb Blaschke said the storm showed the risk of having all three wells in one area and dependent on the same electrical connection. If something were to damage that line, the city would have no alternate municipal water source to immediately rely on. A second well site closer to town would not eliminate the possibility of an outage, but it could separate part of the water system from the infrastructure that failed during the August storm. That physical separation is central to the city’s planning.

The storm’s effects also revealed the importance of the city’s storage tanks and conservation efforts. While the wells were without power, those tanks provided the water residents needed, and conservation helped extend the available supply. The experience gave city officials time to assess what worked, while also underscoring that stored water is not a permanent substitute for operating wells. The proposed project is therefore being treated as a long-term infrastructure investment rather than a quick fix for the outage.

Willcox is using grant funding to pay for testing and design work connected to the proposed well. The city also receives grants from the Water Infrastructure Finance Authority of Arizona for repairs to its existing wells. Those funds are supporting work on the system Willcox already depends on while the city studies how to add capacity and resilience. The new well is not expected to be finished for another couple of years, so the community will continue relying on the existing wells, storage tanks, conservation measures and ongoing repairs in the meantime.

Officials are also pursuing ways to reduce demand. One effort involves installing smart irrigation systems, which can help manage outdoor watering and reduce unnecessary use. The city describes these projects as less visible than a new well or emergency repairs, but they are part of the broader effort to strengthen the water system. Lower consumption can help preserve supplies during interruptions and reduce pressure on infrastructure while the city works through the design, testing and construction stages of the additional well.

The city’s water planning extends beyond residents who receive service from municipal wells. Willcox is considering satellite water refill stations in surrounding areas for people whose private wells have dried up. Those stations could provide a way for affected residents outside the city system to obtain water. The proposal reflects the city’s view that rural households around Willcox are part of the same community, even when they are not connected to municipal infrastructure. Officials say they want to make sure those residents are included in local efforts to address water problems.

For now, the timeline remains measured. The city must identify and test the potential site, complete designs and move through the work required before construction can begin. The goal is to move as quickly as possible, but the replacement or supplemental well remains years away. In the short term, the August outage has left Willcox focused on maintaining its current wells, improving efficiency and preparing for another disruption. In the longer term, a second location could give the city a water source that is less vulnerable to a single storm damaged power line, making the system more dependable for people who live in and around Willcox.