One Water 2100 Master Plan Town Hall
Tuesday, Aug. 16, 2022
Meeting Summary
The City of Tucson held the One Water 2100 Master Plan town hall on Tuesday, Aug. 16, 2022, at the Tucson Convention Center. The open house portion of the event took place from 4 to 4:45 p.m., during which members of the public could visit information stations, speak one-on-one subject matter experts highlighting water resource issues and identified needs. During the open house, scribes were at informational stations with City subject matter experts, and the scribes documented the conversations at each station.
At the Conservation station, City staff answered questions about water resources, average water use, residential water audits, water quality, rainwater harvesting and groundwater recharge.
At the Water Resources station, City staff answered questions about water resources, water supply portfolio and the Colorado River, potential reuse options, green stormwater infrastructure and at-home water treatment options, graywater systems and incentives.
Following the open house, Mr. Tim Thomure, City of Tucson Assistant City Manager, opened the meeting by introducing the One Water 2100, acknowledging local officials in the audience and providing an overview of the agenda and ground rules for the Q&A portion of the town hall. Mr. Thomure also highlighted the upcoming study session on Aug. 23, 2022, about the City’s development of a Climate Action and Adaptation Plan.
Vice Mayor Lane Santa Cruz, council member for Ward 1, spoke about the importance of public collaboration and involvement to address the drought in the desert Southwest. Vice Mayor Santa Cruz also acknowledges the local Indigenous tribes’ stewardship of water.
A video of Mayor Regina Romero was shared thanking the Tucson community for their efforts in conservation, which have helped earn Tucson’s reputation as one of the most water resilient cities in the American West. Mayor Romero also explained the general timeline for the Tucson One Water 2100 Master Plan, with a call-to-action for continued civic engagement.
Tucson Water Director John Kmiec discussed the City’s diverse water resource portfolio. Tucson Water services nearly 750,000 people across 390 square miles in the City of Tucson, the Town of Marana and nearby unincorporated areas. This amounts to 30 billion gallons of water delivered to customers per year. The City has 206 groundwater wells, 60 drinking water storage reservoirs that serve primarily as a fire protection system, 4,600 miles of pipelines and hundreds of booster stations and pressure control valves.
Director Kmiec posed the question, “Where does the majority of your DRINKING water come from?” and invites audience members to answer via an online polling platform. The correct answer was “ALL of the above,” which received 21% of the responses. The most popular answer was “Colorado River,” with 68% of the responses.
Director Kmiec presented the One Water vision and guiding principles, then introduced the City’s water history and discussed its transition from being completely reliant on groundwater to its modern-day implementation of surface water, remediated groundwater and recycled water. Additionally, Tucson has been moving toward using stormwater. Today, Tucson uses the same amount of water as it did in the late 1980s, even with 200,000 more people living in the community.
Since relying on groundwater in the late 1900s, the aquifers have recovered significantly due to natural recharge, less groundwater use and recharge and storage of Colorado River water in the aquifer. The City of Tucson is rolling out Green Stormwater Infrastructure programs to supplement its water supply.
Ms. Wendy Broley, Chief Technology Officer of Brown & Caldwell, explained that scenario planning done as part of the One Water 2100 Master Plan process is “a foresight tool used to develop flexible strategies under uncertainty” that “emphasizes the plausible over the probable.” The Tucson One Water Master 2100 Master Plan has eight themed drivers: water supply changes, water demand changes, system resilience, community/educational factor, equity and affordability, government/policy/regulations, water-energy nexus and economic variability. The One Water initiative aims to create a “Sustainable Oasis” future scenario in Tucson, through increased portfolio diversification and decreased demand.
Ms. Broley discussed the strategies for One Water, which are four-pronged: increase use of recycled water, continue to treat groundwater, expand rainwater and stormwater harvesting and develop onsite reservoirs.
Ms. Galayda, Tucson Water Lead Planner, shared the One Water timeline. Community Engagement and Adoption will occur in 2022 and 2023 and will include planning coordination, strategies and actions, prioritization survey and mayor and council approval.
Following the presentation, Ms. Broley facilitated the discussion portion of the town hall. Questions were collected from the audience and from the website. As facilitator, Ms. Broley asked questions from attendees to panelists Director Kmiec, Ms. Galayda and Mr. Thomure.
Question 1: In the One Water 2100 Master Plan, how will Tucson Water ensure sustainable quality water in light of Tucson’s rapid growth and dwindling resources, such as Lake Havasu’s historic low water levels that feed our Central Arizona Project (CAP) distribution?
Ms. Galayda: We have done a number of technical memos that looked at our long-range supply and demand to the year 2100. Our water use projections show that the supply we’re projecting will meet the increase in population, despite climate impacts and given what we project from our conservation program to be able to save.
Mr. Thomure: While the Colorado River is having a shortage and is in a crisis, that does not mean Tucson is in a crisis. Through your conservation efforts, we use less water than we did in the past, and that has allowed us to bank extra water for the future. We have been making investments in recycled water, rainwater harvesting and stormwater capture. All of that, collectively, puts us in a good position to be able to withstand the Colorado River shortage.
Question 2: What are the likely outcomes of the Colorado River shortage for Tucson and surrounding Tribal land?
Director Kmiec: Contracts with the Colorado River will change and be adjusted. Now, our contract allows for 144,191 acre-feet per year. With the reconsultation, we anticipate we will end up with some type of reduction. We will continue to fight for Tucson to keep our Colorado River contract as high as possible.
Mr. Thomure: There are two populations that are often underrepresented in conversations around this question; Southern Arizona and Tribal partners. Historically, Tucson has not been represented in these conversations, but over the last six years, we’ve been at the table. We are now in the conversation. We are advocates for our Tribal partners here in Tucson and we have contractual and political relationships with the Pascua Yaqui and the Tohono O’odham in their attempts to seek a water rights settlement, which has not yet occurred. We are also integral to providing resilience and backup supplies for Colorado River entitlements held by the local Tribal communities in the form of reclaimed and recycled water. We are not at a point where their voices are heard robustly and adequately, but we are coming a long way and supporting one another in those discussions.
Question 3: As most of our tap water is from the Central Arizona Project (CAP), can you discuss if per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) is a concern in that water supply or more broadly?
Director Kmiec: PFAS is a significant challenge for the Tucson basin. Water quality has been a priority for Tucson Water. We first discovered PFAS in our wells back in 2009, and we have been avoiding those parts of the aquifer, while also challenging the regulatory agencies to address it. We do not face PFAS challenges with the Colorado River water, Avra Valley groundwater and our operating wells in Tucson. PFAS comes from firefighting foams used at military establishments and airports, and we are avoiding those parts of the aquifer.
Question 4: How secure is Tucson’s current supply in light of the current drought conditions, and how will Tucson’s water conservation program address the issue?
Director Kmiec: We only use about two-thirds of our Colorado River allocation; we’ve been banking that excess water for years. Having a diverse water portfolio and the conservation ethic that Tucson has demonstrates to the rest of the country that you can still have a high quality and standard of life with less water.
Ms. Galayda: Our community conservation ethic is one of the pillars of our water security in Tucson. We are looking for your feedback during this process, including how to prioritize programs and rebates that are most important to include in the plan to build the “Sustainable Oasis” future scenario.
Mr. Thomure: The cuts to our allocation of Colorado River water will not impact us. That would not be true if we still used water at the rate that we did in the mid-1980s. We need to really emphasize that the supply and demand sides work together, and it is only because of the conservation that we will not feel the cuts coming next year.
Question 5: How can we get our neighborhoods actively engaged in this effort to conserve, harvest and reuse water?
Ms. Galayda: We would appreciate your help and public involvement is a critical part of One Water 2100. You can plant trees through the Mayor’s Million Trees Challenge and our Storm to Shade program. If you are a member of a homeowners association, sign up on our website to get our updates and encourage your friends and neighbors to do the same. You will find out about community events we are attending in your area, where you can ask us more questions. We will also have a large frequently asked questions list, comment form and survey on our website – TucsonOneWater.com.
Question 6: How is the City evaluating ongoing processes and policies to reflect the new water goals coming out of this planning process?
Mr. Thomure: We are always challenging the way we do business as a city. Specifically for water resources and supplies, on June 7, Mayor and Council directed Tucson Water to look at five different potential water policies for how we provide services in the community toward Net Zero Water. The concept of Net Zero Water can take many forms, but the idea is that any new development will not have a negative impact on our water supply. If net zero water is not reached, we are looking to institute a fee, which will be used for other buildings with inefficient water use, or for providing funding to low-income communities who cannot afford to repair leaks and inefficient appliances.
Question 7: How do you plan to effectively reach the younger generations with this information, as they will be the ones affected in 80 years?
Ms. Galayda: We reach out to community representatives and organizations in an effort to reach and engage young people. The City has a number of boards and commissions, including the Metropolitan Education Commission. We are looking to build relationships with stakeholders through the One Water 2100 Master Plan process and encourage input and participation through our events.
Director Kmiec: One thing that Tucson Water has been doing for many years now is investing in Arizona Project WET. We will continue to invest in these elementary level and secondary education programs so all our children grow up understanding the value of water.
Question 8: There is a lot of interest around rainwater and stormwater harvesting. Are there any plans to switch from rebates to grants or scholarships, since rebates privilege people who can afford costs up front and present a major barrier to residential uptake?
Ms. Galayda: We have started down that road. We have scholarship grant programs for rainwater harvesting for applicants who mee the qualifications. We will pay for part of their rainwater harvesting installation up front. Storm to Shade is our latest addition to do stormwater harvesting on a neighborhood scale. This will be available throughout Tucson, but especially in neighborhoods that are underrepresented. We are intentionally reaching out to parts of our community that have low-shade canopy.
Mr. Thomure: We are doing much of this work through our trusted partners in the community to help us reach areas with higher barriers to adoption.
Question 9: Last question: where can people go to get more information, including the presentation tonight?
Ms. Galayda: The presentation is being recorded and will be posted on our website at TucsonOneWater.com.
Director Kmiec concluded the meeting after inviting the attendees to visit the Sweetwater Wetlands, which was Tucson Water’s first constructed riparian habitat. The town hall concluded at 6 p.m.
