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Arizona


Harquahala Valley Irrigation District I (Completed)
In 1997 Vidler identified a projected long-term water shortage in the Phoenix metropolitan area and understood the complex water rules in Arizona, which limit the number of groundwater basins in the state that are approved to export water into the Phoenix metropolitan area. Vidler began acquiring farmland and associated agricultural water rights in a rural area located approximately 60 miles west of Phoenix, Arizona. Over 18,000 acres of land and 56,000 acre-feet of water were assembled and acquired. The project was sold in multiple transactions over several years to a power company, a golf course developer and finally, in June 2005, to a real estate developer. Vidler realized aggregate proceeds of approximately $110 million from these transactions.

Harquahala Valley Irrigation District II (Completed)
Approximately 3,206 acres of land in Harquahala Valley owned by Vidler were retained in the Harquahala Valley Irrigation District I transaction. Of this land, 1,280 acres had groundwater rights of 3,837 acre feet, all of which could be exported to the Phoenix metropolitan area. In June, 2013 Vidler sold 1,021 acres of this land and 3,063 acre-feet of associated groundwater to two Scottsdale golf courses for $10 million.

In January 2015, we entered into an agreement with the City of Scottsdale for the sale of 258 acres of land and the remaining 774 acre-feet of transferable water rights for approximately $3.4 million which would leave Vidler with 6,040 acre feet of water rights, which can only be used in the Harquahala Valley Ground Water Basin on Vidler’s 1,926 acres of land. The transaction closed in the third quarter of 2015.

Vidler Undergroundwater Storage Facility (Current)
In 1996, Vidler purchased land in the Harquahala Valley and over several years received state and local permitting approvals to construct an undergroundwater storage facility with permitted storage capacity of over one million acre-feet of water. Under the permit Vidler could purchase Colorado River water from the state-run Central Arizona Project in those years when Arizona receives excess flows from the Colorado River. This facility is the largest privately owned undergroundwater storage facility in the state of Arizona. Vidler has been storing water at this facility since 1998 and has stored in excess of 250,000 acre-feet of long-term storage credits. Vidler expects the demand for this water to come from the greater Phoenix, Arizona, metro area.

Active Resource Management, LLC (Current)
Based on Vidler's analysis that over the long term the Phoenix Metropolitan market's demand for water will exceed long-term supplies, in 2010 Vidler acquired Active Resource Management, LLC (a company whose primary asset was stored water ("storage credits") in the Roosevelt Water Conservation District ("RWCD")). The RWCD is located in the Phoenix, Arizona, Active Management Area (the "Phoenix AMA"). In 2014 we entered into an agreement with a golf course in Queen Creek, Arizona to sell up to 2,450 acre-feet of storage credits over a seven year period. The initial purchase price was $250 per acre-foot, with annual price increases of 7%. In addition, in 2017 we sold 2,500 acre-feet at $350 per acre-foot to RWCD and in 2019 we sold 25,000 acre-feet to the City of El Mirage. After taking into account the agreements and the two previous 50,000 acre-feet sales to Central Arizona Water Conservation District ("CAWCD") in and the Arizona Water Banking Authority ("AWBA"), Vidler has remaining 27,729 acre-feet of storage credits in the Phoenix AMA available for sale. These credits can be used for a variety of commercial or residential purposes within the greater Phoenix metropolitan area ('the Phoenix AMA').


Based on Vidler's analysis that over the long term the Phoenix Metropolitan market's demand for water will exceed long-term supplies, in 2010 Vidler acquired Active Resource Management, LLC (a company whose primary asset was stored water ("storage credits") in the Roosevelt Water Conservation District ("RWCD")). The RWCD is located in the Phoenix, Arizona, Active Management Area (the "Phoenix AMA"). In 2014 we entered into an agreement with a golf course in Queen Creek, Arizona to sell up to 2,450 acre-feet of storage credits over a seven year period. The initial purchase price was $250 per acre-foot, with annual price increases of 7%. In addition, in 2017 we sold 2,500 acre-feet at $350 per acre-foot to RWCD and entered into an agreement with them to sell up to an additional 12,500 acre-feet over the next two years with an approximate 5% increase in price every six months. After taking into account the agreements and the two previous 50,000 acre-feet sales to Central Arizona Water Conservation District ("CAWCD") in and the Arizona Water Banking Authority ("AWBA"), Vidler has 40,126 acre-feet of storage credits in the Phoenix AMA available for sale. These credits can be used for a variety of commercial or residential purposes within the greater Phoenix metropolitan area.