The Verde River is a major tributary of the Salt River. It is about 170 miles and is one of the largest perennial streams in Arizona. The Mason Lane Automated Headgate project replaced an outdated and inefficient irrigation diversion system with a modern, automated headgate system. The new headgate allows irrigators to more precisely control the amount of water that they divert out of Oak Creek, a tributary of the Verde River, and into the Mason Lane irrigation ditch.