Comparison of Drought Impact on Water Utilities in the Tucson

Basin

Noel McKee, Ashley Betz, Ross Richard, and David Rodriguez

Definition of Drought

• According to Arizona Drought Preparedness Plan– “A sustained, natural reduction in precipitation

that results in negative impacts to the environment and human activities”

Past Drought Plans

• Drought in Arizona was dealt with on an emergency basis

• Governor Jack Richard Williams– 1968 – Construction of Central Arizona

Project (CAP) was approved– 1973-1993 – Construction in progress

Past Drought Plans Continued

• Governor Bruce Babbitt– 1980 Groundwater Management Act

• to control the amount of overdraft that was occurring statewide

• to most effectively distribute the state’s limited supply of groundwater while considering the state’s evolving needs

• to develop the water supply to increase and recharge Arizona’s groundwater

Arizona Drought Preparedness Plan

• Governor Janet Napolitano’s newly implemented drought action plan

• Past drought actions focused on emergency response, this plan focuses on drought preparedness

• Flexible to accommodate different areas of the state

• Formed after considering drought plans of other states

• Relies heavily on scientific resources

Drought Response Ratings

• 0 – Normal Conditions• 1 – Monitoring Unusual Dryness• 2 – Drought Alert• 3 – Drought Emergency

Scientific Resources

• Measurement of reservoir levels, stream flow, and soil moisture

• Monitoring ocean temps• Data from U of A Tree Ring Lab (to predict

long term climate data)

Arizona Drought Preparedness Plan Continued

• Implemented by the Governor’s Drought Action Task Force

• Comprised of committees of experts – Meet regularly throughout the year to assess drought conditions

• Task Force members include– State, Local, and Tribal leaders– Officials from:

• US Geological Survey• Natural Resources Conservation Services• US Bureau of Reclamation • Salt River Project

– Anthropologists and Geographers

Materials and Methods

• Past and present state drought plans were researched

• A survey was created• Five water utilities in the Tucson area were

selected to be interviewed• Responses were compared

Interviewees

• Marana Water Department Utilities Director Brad DeSpain

• Metro Water General Manager Mark Stratton

• Oro Valley Water Utilities Director Alan Forrest

• Tucson Water Administrator Dennis Rule• Green Valley Community Water General

Manager Arturo Gabaldon

Results

Tucson Water 700,000 (80-85% of Tucson population)

Metro Water 45,000

Oro Valley 45,000

Marana 7,000

Green Valley 16,500

Tucson Water 50% Groundwater, 50% CAP water

Metro Water Groundwater and CAP water

Oro Valley Groundwater

Marana Groundwater

Green Valley Groundwater

What is the source of the water?

How many people is the water provided to?

Tucson Water Yes, Yes

Metro Water Yes, Yes (8,850 acre feet)

Oro Valley Yes, 65,000 acre feet, No, the infrastructure to obtain the water still

needs to be built

Marana Yes, Yes

Green Valley Yes (1,337 acre feet), No – infrastructure to obtain water needs to

be built

Tucson Water All used for artificial recharge

Metro Water Artificial recharge, paper water, wet water

Oro Valley N/A

Marana In lieu recharge with Cortaro Marana Irrigation District

Green Valley N/A

How is the CAP water used?

Does the company have a CAP allocation and is it used?

Tucson Water No

Metro Water Yes, an additional 4,600 acre feet

Oro Valley N/A

Marana Yes, an additional 1,500 acre feet

Green Valley N/A

Tucson Water Yes, 5-10 years

Metro Water Yes, 6-9 years

Oro Valley Yes, 4-5 years

Marana Yes, 5-7 years

Green Valley Yes, 6 years

Is Tucson in a drought? If yes, for how long has there been a drought?

Are there plans to buy (more) CAP water?

Tucson Water Not affected directly

Metro Water Has dealt more with conservation practices than with the drought

Oro Valley Relatively new utility, had just bought all of private companies by 1996,

drought hit shortly after

Marana Since drought started

Green Valley Has not dealt with drought as of yet

Tucson Water Created a water bank

Metro Water Conservation tactics

Oro Valley Company is too young, has reacted to drought rather than prepared

Marana Well reconditioning phases

Green Valley Green Valley does have a Curtailment plan that limits use when

in drought.

What has the utility done to prepare for drought in the past?

How long has this utility dealt with/how is it affected by the drought?

Tucson Water No, it has not been impacted by the drought yet but all water utilities must

have water plans for the next 100 years; water bank, and Emergency Supply Plan

Metro Water Working with county to make ordinance or regulatory control and further restrictions,

if necessary

Oro Valley General long term planning that can be pushed forward if necessary

Marana No, just monitoring and maintenance

Green Valley No, but working on one to participate in the state’s drought action plan

Does the company have a drought contingency plan for the future?

Tucson Water Not equally applied to all areas

Metro Water It is a good first step. Identifies a good number of conditions and concerns.

Good that control lies with the individual provider

Oro Valley Good idea. Good initiative for the state, but water utilities should be provided

more. Positive about proactive behavior. The more data the better

Marana Good for as far as it went but has no “teeth” (needs to be more aggressive)

Green Valley Likes it, but feels that there are certain changes that are required to work as well

as the importance of good communication between participants and

the state

How does the company feel about Governor Napolitano’s new Drought Action Plan?

Tucson Water Developers must develop drought plans that include drought restrictions for new

building Metro Water Has not been affected

Oro Valley Company must submit a drought plan.

Marana Have not been affected. Water table is going up

Green Valley Community Water will bring together 6 smaller water utilities and plan a drought action plan for their specific area. Their

plan will have to be tailored specifically to them due to nature of where they get their water (from the south) and their priorities

(humans vs. agriculture).

How will the Drought Action Plan affect this company?

Tucson Water Address the issue that areas with growing populations take up more water and make a

distinction between growing areas and those already suffering from the drought.

Require AMA’s to develop a 100 year plan-if they do not, state can step in to protect

water. Metro Water Would have implemented this plan sooner.

Each company should develop own drought action plan. State should develop separate

office for conservation. Oro Valley Disagree with mandates made by the state.

Implemented programs should be left to the jurisdiction of local authorities rather than state. This could lead to danger if different

areas are all left under state dictation Marana More conservation. Possible statewide

conservation blitz. Green Valley The state when writing the report made the

areas too big. The cells are very different and need to be dealt with individually. The

drought action plan is supposed to be about conservation but really it is reallocation.

What revisions would your company make to this plan?

Useful Websites

• www.drought.arizona.com• www.water.az.gov.gdtf• www.arizona.org• www.cap-az.com

Conclusions• All companies believe that Tucson is in a drought

but opinions about how long it has lasted differ.– Bigger companies believe the drought has lasted

longer, possibly because these areas have seen more population growth and have experienced more strain on their water supply.

– Smaller companies plan to invest more in CAP water, possibly because they recognize the need to obtain water before it is gone.

• Tucson is different from most areas because it relies mainly on groundwater and the drought only affects the groundwater in the long run.

Conclusions Continued

• Drought is more detrimental to CAP water than anything else.

• Mixed reactions about the Arizona Drought Preparedness Plan

Acknowledgments

• Thank you to the utility representatives for giving their time and providing information

• Thank you to Dr. Riley, our classmates, and everyone in attendance