We've provided a basis for this discussion though our past three water articles. The first article asked whether Oro Valley has plenty of water. The second article analyzed why Oro Valley's water is very expensive. The third article,"Western States Drought Could Restrict CAP Water", discussed how the current prolonged Western US drought could impact Oro Valley's water supply.
This article is our opinion of the strategic positioning of Oro Valley's water capacity.
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Water is a shared resource. It is not an economic development weapon.
A colleague of ours, an Oro Valley resident, shared some thinking with us about our town's water cost. Our colleague is relatively new to Oro Valley. "Boy, Oro Valley water is expensive" my colleague observed. Continuing: "I never even looked at the water bill when I lived in Michigan. But here, I have to budget to pay it and we don't use that much water."
Our Response: "Welcome to Oro Valley's de facto property tax where your pocketbook's punished because of inverted water rates, two monthly water fees and three different taxes."
To add insult to injury...
While Oro Valley homeowners pay excessively for the privilege of water, while they scrimp on water use, while they invest in water saving devices, the head of the Town of Oro Valley's water department, Peter Abraham, touts that Oro Valley's water supply is sufficiently ample to support annexation, annexation that could result in thousands of new homes using all that water capacity that residents so carefully built through conservation and investment.
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Residents are insulted.
Oro Valley residents have been told for years that water is a scarce resource. We live in the desert. Water should be conserved. We agree.
The 2016 "Your Voice, Our Future" General Plan also agrees. This voter approved vision or our town calls for water conservation. Annexations, land use changes, and zoning changes are not part of the plan. In fact, these types of changes go against the plan for they encourage, not conserve total water use.
Encouraging water use is dangerous.
The question must be asked: Can Oro Valley maintain a long term sustainable water supply if it does not have Central Arizona Project ("CAP") water?
CAP water is truly the only renewable water source Oro Valley has. But, is it a reliable source? Will it continue forever?
CAP water is an important source of Oro Valley's water. For example, CAP water was 21% of the water delivered in the third quarter of this year (Source: November 2018 Town Manager's Report, p 13). That is 21% less groundwater that would have been drawn from Oro Valley's wells had there been no CAP water.
There is an extended Western States drought that could result in CAP water restriction as soon as 2020. The drought is real. It shows no sign of abatement.
The danger of encouraging more and more rooftops is in assuming that CAP Water supplied to Oro Valley will continue forever.
Oro Valley has a decent water supply because residents of Oro Valley have been forced to conserve use through water rates and taxes that punish water use; and because they have paid for investment to bring CAP water to our town.
Our Opinion:
Use water for the purpose that the general plan intended: Conserve and supply water for growth based on current land use and current zoning.
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