Tucson Standard

Officials from the City of Tucson and Tucson Water recently discussed a new “master plan” for creating a sustainable water supply into the future.

The plan is called One Water 2100, and it has a goal of creating a sustainable water future for the next 80 years, a KGUN 9 report said. To do that, multiple sources may be required.

"It's so that we don’t just rely on one water resource, but when we have it available we store it, we use it but we store it for the future," Timothy Thomure, assistant City manager,  said in the report.

One Water 2100 will collect and store water from various sources for future years, the report said. The plan will be implemented in 2023.

"It's that we’re using rain and storm water that we are using recycled water to make sure that we have many choices,” Thomure continued.

He also cautioned residents of Tucson not to be overly worried, despite dire reports about the Colorado River.

"The Colorado River is the largest water supply for Tucson, and it is in peril we know that the river is in crisis, but that does not mean that Tucson is in crisis," Thomure said. "Through this planning effort and past efforts are making sure that we don’t rely on just one resource.”

Community resident Odessa Draheim commented that she appreciated the effort and infrastructure for harvesting rain water given by the City, which is similar to her own rain-harvesting system in her yard.

"We don’t have a giant system we have a small system where we collect water in buckets and use them in the garden later on,” she said in the report. "I'm excited that Tucson is top tier for water innovation."