1. Urban water planning in the desert
Thank you for inviting me to your seminar in San Diego. Like all Zonies, I’m of course very happy to be here on the beach.
So, what is going on in Arizona? It’s a question that is useful in so many different contexts. I’ll try to tell you a little bit about what’s going on in Phoenix Water these days. I’ll talk a little bit about our water supplies, and our challenges, and what we’re doing to face those challenges. I’ll probably finish early, and then you guys can either ask we questions, or we can finish early and all go toddle off to the bar or beach.

2. /PHXWater @PHXWater Largest potable water provider in Arizona
8 treatment plants
Produce 293,000 AF/YR clean water
12,000 miles of water and sewer mains (540 sq mi)
Treat 190,000 AF/YR of wastewater
1,470 employees
$1.25B 5-yr Capital Improvement Program
Serve 1.5 million water and 2.5 million wastewater customers
@PHXWater
/PHXWater

3. Phoenix’s Water Supplies
Salt & Verde River Water
Supply 60% of demand
Rights are appurtenant to lands
Phoenix’s rights are very senior in the Salt/Verde system
Water allocations governed by local board, that can vote to reduce allocations to protect reservoir levels
SRP Wells feed into the canal system as a redundant supply during drought
Phoenix uses only half of its entitlement
There is “give” in the system
Resilient System

4. Phoenix’s Water Supplies
Colorado River Water
Supplies 40% of demand
Canal owned by feds, operated by CAP
Phoenix water rights are contractual
CAP rights are junior in the lower basin
Water allocations handled through the most complex governance system possible: “The Law of the River”
No well redundancy
Water Phoenix does not use is turned back to CAP and reallocated to the next highest priority user
Every single acre-foot available on the Colorado is allocated every single year
No “give” in the system
Not a Resilient System

5. Urban water planning strategies—desert edition
Challenge:
Provide 1.5M people with water for public health, economic opportunity, and quality of life.
With perfect reliability.
Forever.
In the middle of the desert.
With the added pressure of a changing climate.
But desert cities do enjoy one advantage when it comes to water planning, and that is clarity of purpose. There is no confusion about climate in Phoenix. It’s not possible to endure a Phoenix summer and not understand that it is in fact a desert, and that water is precious. Desert cities understand the value of water.
Clarity of purpose

6. Urban water planning strategies—desert edition
Phoenix is not particularly vulnerable to natural disasters
No earthquakes, tornados, hurricanes, volcanos, blizzards
However, it’s going to be hot and dry. Forever.
Mega-droughts occur in our watersheds that have the ability to decimate civilizations
In a broad sense, every water-related action the City and its residents have undertaken since the City was founded has been for the purpose of mitigating or responding to drought. All of these activities are undertaken to ensure public safety, economic opportunity, and quality of life in a desert community that basically exists in perpetual drought. We do not focus on flash-in-the-pan efforts; we do not tend to be reactionary. Rather, we rely on strategic, methodical planning over the long term. Phoenix is built for drought.
Clarity of challenge
Source: NYPost.com

7. Urban water planning strategies—desert edition
Acquired more surface water supplies than needed under non-drought conditions to provide a buffer during surface water shortages
Acquired physically and legally diverse supplies
Colorado River, Salt & Verde River, groundwater, reclaimed water, water stored underground
So, what have we done to address these challenges?

8. Urban water planning strategies—desert edition
Took the long-term view, planning out for 100+ years to achieve 100-Year Assured Water Supply designation
Directly tied the ability to subdivide land to 100-year adequate water supplies
In other cities, investors will take water availability for granted. Not in Phoenix. It is the first question we get asked when we sell bonds. It is the first question we get asked when an industry looks to move to Phoenix. Do you have enough water?
And for the sake of everyone living in the Valley of the Sun, the answer to that question must always be a clear, unequivocal, YES

9. Urban water planning strategies—desert edition
In the 1980’s central Arizona adopted major groundwater legislative reform through the 1980 groundwater management act. With some limited exceptions, it outlawed fossil groundwater mining and set a goal of “safe yield” for local aquifers that were enforced through the 100-year assured water supply rules.
@25% today we’d be pumping around 70,000 AF/YR
Invested hundreds of millions of dollars into surface water treatment plant infrastructure
Successful conversion in the 1980’s from dependence on fossil groundwater mining to renewable surface water supplies
Saving fossil groundwater supplies for future generations

10. Urban water planning strategies—desert edition
We’ve been recharging our aquifers since the mid 90s.
Recharged local aquifers
Phoenix partnered in the first aquifer recharge facility in Arizona, the Granite Reef Underground Storage Project, 1994

11. Urban water planning strategies—desert edition
Settled disputes over water rights with Indian communities, agricultural districts, and rural communities
Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community, Gila River Indian Community, White Mountain Apache Tribe, San Carlos Apache Tribe, Fort McDowell Indian Community
Settlements brought certainty, created benefits for all communities, and developed new relationships
In the West, water is usually doled out on a “first in time, first in right basis”. Well, it turns out that the Indian Communities in Arizona were there first, and therefore had large, strong claims to much of the water in Arizona. Rather than wait for the adjudication, Arizonans came together, largely under the leadership of Senator Kyl and the Salt River Project, to bring parties to the table to come to collaborative settlements.

12. Urban water planning strategies—desert edition
Reclaimed and re-used our wastewater
Nuclear power generation
Local agriculture
Wetlands
In exchange for surface water supplies
Re-used all bio-solids
Bio-gas reuse coming soon
Sell in CA energy market
Been Reusing Wastewater for 40 Years

13. Urban water planning strategies—desert edition
Began very aggressive water conservation programs in the 80’s, focus on changing culture
Used rate structure to discourage outdoor use
Residential GPCD now 100
30% lower than peak in ’96
When it comes to water conservation, Phoenix plays the long game. We do not want our customers to react to hydrology, or reservoir elevations. Instead, we want them to embrace a desert lifestyle, because someday the drought will end, but it will still be hot and dry in Phoenix. We focus on changing culture over the long term so that people embrace wise water use as a lifestyle choice in the desert.
Phoenix has been subject to mandatory water conservation requirements since the 1980’s

14. Phoenix embraced a desert lifestyle
This strategy has paid off in spades for us.
Phoenix embraced a desert lifestyle

15. Phoenix neighborhood 2007
Percent of total area of parcel covered by turf.

16. Phoenix neighborhood 2010
Percent of total area of parcel covered by turf.

17. Phoenix neighborhood 2013
Percent of total area of parcel covered by turf.

18. Urban water planning strategies—desert edition
We must do more
But of course, we must do more. The climate is changing, and while the climatic condition I affectionately call HOT AND DRY is predictable and slow-moving, lends itself to planning and preparation, it is also pervasive, and unrelenting. And Phoenix is going to become even hotter, and even drier.

19. Urban water planning strategies—black swan version
Phoenix is vulnerable to a Colorado River system crash
Gave up wells in pursuit of sustainability
Can meet only 3% of peak demands with wells
I spend a lot of time talking with my Council about black swan events.
Black swan events are rare events that are beyond the realm of normal expectations, and that have very profound consequences.

20. Urban water planning strategies— black swan version
Severe shortage supply
High demand scenario
Low demand scenario

21. Urban water planning strategies—what’s next?
Drill more wells
Phoenix-Tucson partnership
Phoenix stores Colorado River water in Tucson aquifers
During shortage on the Colorado River, Tucson pumps that stored water out of its well field
Tucson’s Colorado River water is delivered to Phoenix surface water treatment plants
Tucson benefits in the short term with higher water tables and lower pumping costs
Phoenix benefits long term with assured surface water deliveries

22. Urban water planning strategies—what’s next?
Finalize Arizona Water Banking Authority recovery plans
Establish more flexible and efficient movement of water over time and distance through agreements such as
Exchanges between cities,
Trades of Colorado River allocations for long-term storage credits,
Use of recovery partners for Water Bank credits,
Construction of an interconnect between the Salt River Project canal and the Central Arizona Project Canal.
We stored 1.4 MAF of Colorado River water in aquifers in the Valley of the Sun that is available to back up municipal Colorado River allocations in Central Arizona. We can all openly admit that we stored that water back in the day mainly to keep it away from you. Because our focus was on keeping it away from you and storing as much as possible, we stored it where it was cheapeast and easiest to store, not necessarily where it was cheapest and easiest to recover when we need it. There are a lot of problems associated with recovering this water, physical problems, legal problems, financial issues. Of course, we will overcome these problems
Traditionally, these exchanges and re-sales haven’t taken place because we’ve been locked into a command and control paradigm and because “excess” water has been available
Now there’s less water, and we need to get really efficient at moving water from where it is at this moment to where it needs to be at a different moment.
We need to move to a more innovative, flexible structure that encourages flexible and efficient movement of water.
. But the work must begin in earnest now.

23. Next Steps Store Water In Tucson Watershed Restoration
Improve Access to Groundwater
Improve Ability to Move Water Flexibly & Efficiently
Store Water In Tucson
Watershed Restoration