Tucson City Council tightens large water user rules slightly as residents push for stronger limits
The Tucson City Council approved minor changes to its large water user ordinance, reducing the threshold for defining a large water user and directing staff to propose requiring conservation plans from more customers. This decision came despite residents advocating for more significant restrictions, including a lower threshold and a 2-to-1 water offset.
The Tucson City Council has approved minor revisions to its ordinance for large water users, reducing the monthly water use threshold from 7.48 million gallons to 6.36 million gallons. Additionally, city staff have been directed to develop proposals within 120 days for requiring water conservation plans from customers using over 5,000 ccf monthly and to notify the council when a user exceeds approved water use.
This decision followed a public hearing where residents urged the council to implement more substantial changes, such as further reducing the threshold to 2,500 ccf, instituting a 2-to-1 water offset for new large users, and pausing approvals during periods of extreme drought. Catlow Shipek, senior program director of Watershed Management Group, expressed concern that the approved ordinance would allow new large water users to continue