Last week, experts for opponents to Prescott's plan to pump groundwater from the Big Chino Water Ranch, challenged the city's position and calculated that pumping would draw down the aquifer by 600-700 feet over the next 100 years, which they predicted would affect springs that feed the upper Verde River, according to the latest coverage by the Prescott Daily Courier.
The opponents groundwater model covers 720 square miles of the Big Chino sub-basin, a much larger area than the city of Prescott's model over 220 square miles.
The Daily Courier reports go into great detail, not only on the technical issues involved, but the legal wrangling over what information is allowed to be brought forward.
Some of the controversy surrounds opponents use of materials and experts apparently provided by the Salt River Project which is not a party to the hearing