RAINBOW LAKE
Conservation Company, Inc
Conserving Arizona's Water
May 22, 2026
The good news is that Rainbow Lake is full and has been stocked with fish by Arizona Fish and Game. The bad news is that the Show Low Pinetop Woodland Irrigation Company has given notice that it wants to privatize the lake, meaning that it will no longer open to public use and usage of the lake will depend on the user’s ownership of lakefront property and payment of a usage fee.
The Irrigation Company owns the water rights to Rainbow Lake as well as several other reservoirs in Show Low, Pinetop, and Lakeside. The Lake itself with minor exception is wholly owned by the Irrigation Company as the result of ownership granted by state and territorial law over their continuous care of the waters for irrigation purposes for one hundred fifty years. The Irrigation Company’s income has been restricted to irrigation user fees except for recent contracts with The Town of Pinetop-Lakeside and Rainbow Lake Conservation Company. The Town has terminated its contract payments and RLCC’s is about to expire in August.
The Irrigation Company wants to expand its income by charging user fees for Rainbow Lake to the lakefront owners, including the residences within the Shores development. The amount of the fees has not been set, and the Irrigation Company is considering some of the practical issues and costs in moving forward with privatizing.
This summer is expected to be a period of serious discussion about Rainbow Lake’s future with the Irrigation Company taking such a major deviation in its vision for the Lake. RLCC will be present at meetings with the Board of Directors of the Company to work through the implications to the community of such a change. Hopefully, the Town and some of the neighborhoods will be represented in such talks.
I wish RLCC had a meaningful response to this situation. The Irrigation Company has the advantage of ownership of a lake whose wonders we would like to enjoy without restriction. Your thoughts and counsel are appreciated.
Dave Derickson, President & Managing Director
Rainbow Lake Conservation Company