Official Web Site of the City of Phoenix

Water Supply Questions and Answers

Phoenix’s water supply is good, but please conserve water as a lifestyle. The Valley is dry, but reservoir levels are good, because most of our tap water comes from years of snow far north and east of the Valley. It’s everyone’s job to think about water…every time you use it…and use it responsibly. Phoenix has the water it needs - but none to waste.

Q: What is the status of Phoenix ’s water supply?

A: Phoenix ’s water supply is in good shape. Even though Phoenix remains in a regional period of climatic drought that has lasted over 10 years, snow pack far north and east of the Valley has improved reservoir levels in the past year. That snow, not Valley rain, supplies most of our tap water as it travels from far north and east of the Valley to Phoenix treatment plants, then to your tap.

Q: From where does the city of Phoenix get its water?

A: The city of Phoenix ’s water supply comes primarily from the Salt River Project (SRP) which brings water by canal and pipeline from the Salt and Verde Rivers , and the Central Arizona Project (CAP) which transports Colorado River water. A small amount of Phoenix ’ supply comes from wells, or groundwater.

Q: How can Phoenix ’s water supply be so good, when I keep hearing about drought and other areas that are considering water restrictions?

A: Phoenix has had a hundred years of sure-handed water management. Extremely wise planning for drought in the desert and the fact that we have several water sources has kept Phoenix way ahead of the drought curve for decades. Phoenix diversified its water portfolio long ago and amended the city code to promote reuse of water and water conservation.

Q: Are mandatory water use restrictions coming soon? What happens to our water supply if drought continues for a long time?

A: Even though it is usually dry in the Valley, Phoenix will not need to impose mandatory water use restrictions for several years, and that’s only if the Colorado, Salt and Verde rivers’ watersheds far north and east of the Valley receive little rain and snow for a number of years in a row. If the west were to experience drought conditions for another five or more years, the reduction of available water supplies on the Colorado and Salt Rivers may reach a point where Phoenix would initiate mandatory water use restrictions that go beyond our traditional low water use lifestyle. This gives everyone time to start preparing for such an event. Continued wise planning and water conservation remain big parts of ensuring our future water supply, especially if the regional drought lasts for a long time. Phoenix will have the water it needs, but none to waste…with your help.

Q: What might some future water restrictions be?

A: If we reach a point where drought restrictions are required, these restrictions would be phased to become increasingly severe as drought continues. Initially these restrictions would focus on outdoor water use and water waste. Restrictions might include watering on certain days, banning the use of outdoor water features, and enforcing water wasting laws. More severe restrictions may include using child safe pool covers to reduce evaporation, banning turf irrigation (letting lawns go brown), and banning car washing. Phoenix only will ask you to do them when it is really needed. We will give you plenty of notice and we will end restrictions as soon as we can to make as little impact on your life as possible.

However, there are things you can do now to prepare for water use restrictions and lessen the impact. Zone your irrigation so you turn water off to your turf and flower beds and still water your trees and shrubs. Be prepared to turn off outdoor water features - like fountains. If you are building a new pool or rehabbing an old pull, include the hardware needed to install a child safe pool cover. And, if you are replacing water using appliances, pick the most water efficient ones, along with low flow toilets and faucets.

Q: Does Phoenix have a drought response plan?

A: Yes. It is called the Drought Management Plan and it is part of Phoenix City Code (Chapter 37, Sections 121 through 130.2). The Drought Management Plan is implemented when Phoenix projects that the available water supply may not meet total customer demand. The plan contains four stages including varied levels of voluntary and mandatory conservation measures, education, possible usage restrictions, and possible surcharges, as well as possible bans and penalties for misuse of water. The drought plan is available on line.

Q: Do other cities or the state of Arizona have drought plans?

A: Many of the cities in the Valley either have, or are preparing, contingency drought plans. In March 2003, the Governor created by Executive Order the Drought Task Force to develop both short-term and long-term drought plans for the state. The task force presented a draft of the new short-term plan and other technical documents,which can be viewed on the drought and conservation update section of the Arizona Department of Water Resources website.

Q: What is Phoenix doing to insure our water supply for the future?

A: Phoenix plans its water supply for 50 to 100 years. Along with monitoring usage and working with its water partners, Phoenix continues to adopt effective water supply standards, improve groundwater capacity to supplement its surface water supply from snows, and expand the use of highly treated wastewater, or reclaimed water, which saves on drinking water. Reclaimed water is used for agricultural, parks and cemetery and golf course watering, as well as the cooling towers at the Palo Verde power plant.

During years when adequate water supplies are available, the city also has been banking water. This is done by storing excess water into underground aquifers. During times of water restrictions, this water will be pumped back up and used as a supply to meet demand. Arizona also is a leader in water banking.

Phoenix was the first Valley city to adopt a Drought Management Plan in 1990 and continues to enhance it. We also have a Water Resources Plan and Enhanced Water Conservation Strategy.

This past year, Phoenix rigorously analyzed drought scenarios that exceed the State’s 100 year water supply requirement. That resulted in a Water Resources Plan that sets an even higher standard even during long term drought. To implement this standard, Phoenix has initiated several programs, including enhancing its 25 year-old award winning water conservation public awareness program that urges joining Phoenix government by adopting a water conservation lifestyle. Phoenix also initiated an effort to improve groundwater capacity. Currently, the city has substantial reserves of groundwater, but uses very little of it to meet customers’ normal water needs. These groundwater reserves will play a critical role if our supplies from the Colorado , Salt and Verde Rivers are reduced as a result of long term drought. Additionally, Phoenix will expand its use of reclaimed water. Simply stated, Phoenix is working to ensure that our grandchildren can live in the desert even during times of long term drought.

Q: Does lack of rain in the Valley have any effect on our water supply?

A: Rain in the Valley will help with irrigating grass, trees and plants, but it does not fill the reservoirs, which store water from snows north and east of the Valley, before sending that water to the city of Phoenix ’s treatment plants. And, if landscape watering systems are not turned off when it rains, there is no water savings. While Phoenix customers have increasingly adopted a low water use lifestyle over the years, people simply use more water when it doesn’t rain in the Valley.

Q: Why doesn’t Phoenix just stop growth to save water?

A: Fortunately, meeting current and future water demands during times of drought does not require stopping growth in Phoenix . Our current economy relies on continued growth and most people in Phoenix and the region support policies that favor managed growth. We recently looked at the 50 year future of Phoenix and its ability to meet water needs of a growing city even under long term drought. Our conclusion was that new water facilities and supplies needed for growth could be met without having a negative impact on existing customers. Phoenix is moving forward with new policies that take this approach, such as requiring low water use for new construction. But existing customers must still do their part, increasing your efforts to live a low water use lifestyle will mean that we will be able to supply you with water, even during drought, at minimal cost to you.

New homes require new water resources, and Phoenix expects development to fund the cost of these resources. In addition, most new development utilizes low water use systems and landscaping, thus, the average household water use of a new house is less than the average household water use of existing houses. New commercial and industrial uses also are more efficient. The result is that in the city of Phoenix, the rate at which total water consumption is increasing is lower than our growth rate. Thus stopping growth would not result in significant water savings that would benefit current customers.

However, stopping growth could result in a drastic slow-down in the local economy; a slowdown that would hurt not only the home building industry, but the entire employment and commerce base that sustains our community. This would limit the city’s ability to finance the development of new water resources and have a major impact on our ability to meet demand during times of drought.

Since 1998, Phoenix ’s per person use of water has declined despite a 15 percent growth rate - which is a testament to water supply planning and our customer’s water conservation efforts.

Q: I don’t think I should have to pay for new customers’ water, should I?

A: Phoenix uses developer’s fees to help pay for new water infrastructure and supplies, so existing customers don’t foot the bill for growth. Phoenix also will be looking at our various development codes to ensure they reflect the state of the art for low water use devices and practices.

Q: Can the drought cause higher water rates?

A: Drought could eventually affect our water rates if the city needs to pump additional groundwater, purchase additional water supplies that may be available at the time, or hire additional staff to enforce mandated water restrictions. In the future, a drought surcharge could be imposed to charge people according to the amount of water they use each month.

Q: Why is Phoenix’s water supply so different from rural Arizona’s supply?

A: Comparing Phoenix ’s water supplies to any other city’s or region’s supply is an apples and oranges comparison. Phoenix ’s water supply is better than many rural Arizona areas because Phoenix has multiple water sources - surface, groundwater and highly treated wastewater (for crops, parks, etc.) We’re also able to capture water during wet years and use it during the dry years.

Other parts of Arizona made very different decisions about their water supply years ago and rely more heavily on shallow groundwater supplies or storage systems that are much more susceptible to dry cycles. Phoenix ’s foresight and use of surface, ground and reclaimed water, as well as smart water conservation efforts, allow for a redundancy of supply that protects our customers during times of drought.

Q: Why doesn’t Phoenix do something about golf courses and others who use a lot of water?

A: Golf courses and many other businesses, not only are vital to our economy, but they use some of the most highly advanced watering systems available. After all, they need to look out for their bottom line. Additionally, many Valley golf courses use non-potable water, such as non-drinkable well water and reclaimed water, which is highly treated wastewater, to water their turf areas. Golf courses are an asset that contributes heavily to the draw for tourism in the Valley, which, in turn, creates jobs and helps keep the economy healthy. In total, golf course water use constitutes less than three percent of total water delivered by the city of Phoenix .

Professional turf managers use real-time data to assess how much moisture is lost from turf areas each day and how much is put back. That same grass management data is available to all citizens. The Arizona Republic newspaper reports on water needs daily on the weather page, and there is a website to help you plan watering schedules for your lawn and plants. You can create a personal lawn watering guide by visiting the AZMET website. There also are a variety of materials available through the water conservation office which you can request by emailing us or by calling (602) 261-8367.

In the future, a drought surcharge could be imposed to charge people according to the amount of water they use each month.

Q: Why should I save water when my neighbors and businesses use so much?

A: Water conservation is everyone’s individual responsibility. In the future Phoenix will be targeting high water users with special programs and possibly surcharges. But, Phoenix cannot police all households and businesses to monitor water use. Please take it upon yourself to do the right thing and use water wisely.

Q: Since we live in a desert, aren’t we always in a drought?

A: No, but annual runoff from snowmelt in 60 of the last 100 years has been below the long term average for our watersheds. Runoff had been reduced enough that one of our water providers, the Salt River Project, cut allocations to its customers, including Phoenix , by one-third beginning in January 2003. Those allocations were restored after a wet winter in 2005. But, as a desert community, we are very vulnerable to drought and the impacts of little rainfall. That is why so much effort and so much investment have been put into assuring a long term water supply.

Q: I don’t even live in the desert, why should I save water?

A: If you live anywhere in Phoenix or the Valley, you live in the desert. So, please, simply think about water every time you use it…and use it responsibly.

Q: Will the drought get worse?

A: Predictions are that the current dry weather (as of March 2006) will last at least several more months. In addition, summer rainfall in the mountains of Arizona rarely provides enough stream flow to benefit reservoir levels. However climatologists are unable to make climate forecasts longer than six months so we can not definitively say how long drought conditions will last.

Research of climatic conditions over the last 1,000 years indicates that droughts as long as 20 to 30 years were not uncommon. Such droughts were characteristic of our current drought in that they covered the entire western United States and other parts of North America . Though we cannot predict how long drought will continue, we can assess how long it will take to recover from drought. In the west, normal climatic conditions include some years of below normal precipitation and some years of above normal precipitation. Low rainfall is normal. However, after an extended period of below normal rainfall, the soil moisture and reservoir storage deficits are not typically made up in one year. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) estimates that even if drought ended today, it could take the west 5 to 10 years to fully recover. The U. S. Drought Monitor website provides information and forecasts on a weekly basis.

Q: Why isn’t there more information out there about our water supply and water conservation?

A: Actually, Phoenix consistently places large amounts of information in newspapers, TV, radio, on-line, in schools and on Phoenix Channel 11. Phoenix has a twenty five year old, award winning water conservation public awareness program. Even though we don’t have the funds to show up every night as TV commercials, Phoenix uses a variety of campaigns, including: school, residential, adult education, and business programs; hundreds of local and national newspaper, television and radio interviews each year; editorials in the Arizona Republic and community papers; articles in the customer newsletter Notes; PHX 11 WATERways videos and public service announcements; talk show appearances; movie theatre ad slides; Project WET teacher education programs; billboard campaigns; newspaper advertisements; extensive phoenix.gov website information; participation in community fairs and events; staff presentations to community groups; mascot “Wayne Drop” appearing at special events; water bill messages; and even telephone on-hold messages.

Q: Is Phoenix practicing what it preaches about saving water.

A: Yes. City departments have even had mandatory water use restrictions in the past and continue to use water responsibly at parks, municipal golf courses and city office sites. City departments achieved combined water savings of more than 11 percent for 2003 after Stage 1 Drought was declared by the Water Services Department director.

Q: What can I do to conserve water?

A: Simply Think About Water...every time you use it…and use it responsibly. You can prepare to live under more severe drought conditions. Outdoor water needs use more than sixty percent of our water. It is also the usage where restrictions can create the largest benefit, should they become necessary. There are a number of techniques which can help you prepare for more severe drought without adversely affecting your lifestyle or your pocketbook. For more information, see the Drought Preparation Techniques section.

In general, take these steps to help conserve water:

• Know how your landscaping or sprinkler timer works. Decrease watering as weather cools or whenever it rains in your area.
• Don't over-water native plants. Learn how much water they need and realize that they are desert plants and will die from too much water.
• Plant grass only where children and pets use it, not just as a decoration.
• Invest in a swimming pool cover to help prevent evaporation.
• Sweep your driveway instead of hosing it down.
• Don’t fill your washing machine with water if you don’t have a full load of clothes in it.
• Run your dishwasher only when it’s full.
• Buy low-flow toilets and faucets when you replace existing ones.

Q: Where can I get more information?

A: For information on Phoenix ’s water supply, drought and conservation program visit the Phoenix Water Services Department website. Customers also can learn a wealth of conservation information from the website www.wateruseitwisely.com or by e-mailing the city of Phoenix ’s Water Conservation Office at conservation@phoenix.gov .

 

Visit the City of Phoenix Water Services Department home page for information about a variety of water issues and water conservation.

The Water - Use It Wisely website lists more than one-hundred water saving tips for our area.

Last modified on 12/19/2007 15:44:29