Official Web Site of the City of Phoenix

Phoenix May Be in a Drought, But Our Water Supply is in Great Shape

Why Phoenix’s water supply is number one

Central Arizona is in a better position to provide sustainable water supplies under conditions of drought and global climate change than most regions in the United States, including Texas, Georgia, Florida, the Northeast, and Midwest.  That seems a bold statement for a desert region, but it is the very fact that we are a desert region that such a statement can be made. 

For more than 100 years our region has been planning for and making significant investment in water supply infrastructure and policy under desert conditions of supply variability, using wet periods to store water to be used during dry periods.

This planning has resulted in four major water supplies being available to Central Arizona: surface water from the Salt River and Verde River water system managed through a system of reservoirs and canals; surface water from the Colorado River via the Central Arizona Project canal; ground water protected by the laws of Arizona in regards to groundwater management; and reclaimed water available through significant investment by a regional partnership and individual efforts of cities in the region.

This portfolio of water supplies is more sustainable than most regions’ because of the attention paid to long term sustainability of supply and demand.  The State of Arizona is more advanced in planning for water supply than most other states.  It has a ground water management law that sets a target that ground water use in central Arizona must be at a level of sustainable yield by 2025.  Further, it requires communities in central Arizona to demonstrate that they have water supplies that can be sustained under normal conditions for 100 years before plats for new development can be approved. 

Phoenix has gone several steps further than the State of Arizona standards: 

• Phoenix has reduced its use of ground water to a minimum amount and is planning its groundwater use for a sustainable yield under long term drought conditions. 
• Phoenix is planning for a 100 year supply under conditions of significant growth,  long term drought, and global climate change. 
• Phoenix recycles in some form 90 percent of its wastewater, delivering it for use in agriculture, energy production, urban irrigation, aquifer recharge and riparian wetland maintenance.
• Phoenix requires new golf courses and large turf facilities in its northern growth areas to utilize reclaimed water for turf irrigation.
• Phoenix participates in and is planning new programs to bank water through ground water recharge for use when drought conditions result in surface water shortages.
• Phoenix has adopted a substantial water resources impact fee that is charged to new development and is used to develop future water supplies needed to meet the demand of development during normal and drought conditions.

Very few cities can demonstrate water supplies that can be sustained under these standards and commitments. This is why the water supply - and our philosophy of water resource planning - is number one.