Prescott draws much of its municipal water supply from the upper Agua Fria watershed.

The Central Arizona Water Conservation District of the Central Arizona Project operates the Agua Fria Recharge Project, which is about 4 miles (6.4 km) south of the New Waddell Dam.

It serves to recharge underground aquifers in this area, and ends at Lake Pleasant, Phoenix.

[7] According to the Geographic Names Information System, it has also been known historically as:[1] The Agua Fria River rises about 1.5 miles northeast of Granite Dells, Arizona and then flows south to join the Gila River about 1 mile south of Goodyear, Arizona.

[3] Agua Fria River drains 2,433.70 square miles (6,303.3 km2) of area, receives about 16.4 in/year of precipitation, has a wetness index of 415.05, and is about 11% forested.