Tucson Standard

Tucson Water held its first public meeting on Friday, February 14, launching a series of meetings with a mission to gain the public's input on the One Water 2100 Master Plan. 

The 80-year plan focuses on providing reliable water sources that will curb water conservation issues in Tucson. The One Water 2100 Master Plan will integrate harvesting rainwater, groundwater, reclaimed water, and surface water from the Central Arizona Project (CAP) to help make the Tucson region more sustainable while continuing to support its population and economic growth. 

"I think it's just asking the public what their view is, what is their quality of life expectation, what will the community look like, what do we need to do to make sure we have water set aside for the economy and economic growth," Tucson Water spokesman Fernando Molina recently told KJZZ radio. 

CAP diverts water from the Colorado River through a 336-mile system to supply water for the southern and central parts of Arizona. It is the state's most abundant renewable water supply, supplying water to 80% of the population.  

A major part of Tucson Water's mission is to make sure that the public is heard and that their concerns and opinions are reflected when prioritizing the water management systems. They want to continue leading the public's water consumption in a sustainable direction. They plan to establish this by rewarding rebates for fixtures that conserve water and by providing programs to educate the public on how they can be more sustainable in their water consumption. 

If you are not able to participate in the public meetings that will run through March 14, you can leave feedback in their websites comment section as well. The city makes its decisions based on the public's feedback on vital resources Molina said.  

You can find their schedule of public meetings here.