Guest View-Mike Zinkin: "Town Water Wasting- The Beat Goes On"

Town of Oro Valley wins 2023 Water Waster Award

This Guest View of Mike Zinkin's is yet another chance to acknowledge the Town of Oro Valley for earning LOVE's 2023 Water Award. This is the third year of this award and, yes, the third time the town has won!

This recognition is attributed to the town's longstanding practice of using potable water for irrigating both a golf course and two town parks, with no apparent intention to adopt alternative measures.

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Zinkin... Potable Water use increasing

We have all received our October 2023 water bills, including the Town of Oro Valley, and the potable water usage remains alarmingly high.

Focusing on the Pusch Ridge golf course, the Town Manager's Report indicates no golf disc rounds played in October, with the course opening for golf only on October 27. Nevertheless, the potable water usage for the month was an excessive 12,390,000 gallons, equating to the needs of 1,770 homes. 

Big bucks spent

The water bill for Pusch Ridge totaled an astonishing $47,962.76. To cover this expense with a golf round cost of $50.00 (for 9 holes), the course would need to host 959 rounds just to break even on the water bill! Notably, the water usage for Pusch Ridge in October 2023 was significantly higher than the same time last year by 6,443,000 gallons, roughly twice 2022 usage. The reason behind this drastic increase in 2023 remains unclear.

Furthermore, the Town's wasteful practices extend to Riverfront Park and Jim Kriegh Park, with a combined usage of 3,236,000 gallons, enough for 462 homes. This represents a 30% increase from the October 2022 figure of 1,936,000 gallons.

Water wasting elsewhere

In addition, the Conquistador water usage in Oct. 2022 was 6,443,000 gallons, while in 2023 the October usage was 14,383,000 gallons. This is a 123% increase. The same trend is true for the Canada course; in October 2022 the usage was 16,318,000 gallons, while in October 2023 the usage was 22,588,000 gallons. This is a 38.5% increase. 

It is concerning to see such a substantial rise in water waste, and it prompts the question:

What changes have occurred on our properties to cause this surge in wastage?

None.

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Note: The town has asserted the following  regarding the increase water use over prior year
 in response to an an inquiry of Mr. Zinkin:

"One of the most significant contributors to water consumption is the temperature and weather and October 2022 was one of our cooler Falls on record,. If you compare last October to this October there were days that had as much as a 16 degree difference.

For example, the Pusch Ridge Course does its overseeding in October and in 2022 there was zero days with 90+ degree heat, compared to this October there were 15 days with 90+ degree heat before the 22nd.

It is important to note that water consumption needs to be looked at holistically over longer time periods to truly understand what the data is telling you. Looking at just one month’s consumption can create a bias that might not be accurate."

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