URGENT! Tell City Council not to spend $2.4 million to subsidize big water users

The City Council will be voting Wednesday on a plan to provide up to $2.4 million per year to subsidize the cost of new water lines to new industrial and warehouse businesses on the outskirts of Tucson. Like the other development incentives, the object is to stimulate Tucson’s economy by providing good paying jobs. The other perk is that in order to get the city to pay for the pipelines, the businesses must agree to include some environmentally sound practices in their building and business plan. Please, read Tony Davis’ article in the Arizona Daily Star for more details: Tucson City Council to consider paying for water lines to new employers

While the current plan is better than the previous plan that encouraged the new businesses to use green practices by offering incentives for implementing them (rather than requiring them), it is still just “greening” more development. For some reason the Tucson Chamber of Commerce wants us to compete with Phoenix in encouraging urban sprawl. 

This perpetual development is NOT SUSTAINABLE. We live in the desert during a drought. We have very limited reserves that rely on imported Central Arizona Project water. The CAP water  is transported 336 miles uphill requiring a whole coal fired power plant to power the pumps. The CAP water stored in Lake Powell is receding at a rapid rate. And other states get first dibs on that water. As climate change progresses, it is irresponsible to bring in more industry that will require water to manufacture their products and even more water to mine for the materials. 

The City Council has committed to taking action to fight climate change. Good! But it is not enough to just install some solar panels on city property. They need to stop promoting development on the outskirts of Tucson that increases traffic to those sites (putting more carbon in the air) and encourages the development of more housing complexes that use up even more of our diminishing water supply.

That $2.4 million would be better spent fixing our aging water system or retrofitting the houses and businesses we already have with water conservation and rainwater harvesting features. It would be better spent installing rainwater harvesting systems on neighborhood streets all over town.

As climate change progresses, Tucson will have more extreme weather. That means more droughts and flash floods. We need to work with the county to update our storm water infrastructure so that storm water is harvested. That would also save millions on storm damage. 

The City Council needs to decide if they are really serious about fighting climate change and making Tucson more sustainable. It’s time to encourage the growth of local businesses by incentivizing them to conserve water and retrofitting existing buildings – instead of bringing in more industrial water hogs. We can never compete with Phoenix. And why would we want to? Tucson Water cannot support perpetual development – particularly of businesses that require a lot of water. If we keep this up, Tucson will be a ghost town like all of the little mining towns that line our back roads. 

For a more sustainable vision for Tucson, check out Sustainable Living Tucson's blog: For the love of Tucson: Creating a desert oasis to combat climate change

Please, speak out to our Mayor and council members before the Wednesday meeting. And if you can, come to the City Council Meeting and make a public statement supporting a more sustainable plan for the future of Tucson's water.

Contact Mayor & Council Members

Mayor Jonathan Rothschild: https://www.mayorrothschild.com/contact-us/ or phone (520) 791-4201

*Ward 1 Vice Mayor Regina Romero: Regina.Romero@tucsonaz.gov (520) 791-4040

*See V.M. Romero's views on the proposal here.

Ward 2 Council Member Paul Cunningham: Paul.Cunningham@tucsonaz.gov (520) 791-4687

Ward 3 Council Member Paul Durham: Paul.Durham@tucsonaz.gov (520) 791-4711

Ward 4 Council Member Shirley Scott: Shirley.Scott@tucsonaz.gov (520) 791-3199

Ward 5 Council Member Richard Fimbres: Richard.Fimbres@tucsonaz.gov (520) 791-4231

Ward 6 Council Member Steve Kozachik: Steve.Kozachik@tucsonaz.gov (520) 791-4601

Speak up at the City Council Meeting

What: The Tucson City Council will consider a program of water infrastructure incentives at its Wednesday, Feb. 21 meeting.

When: The meeting starts at 5:30 p.m., and the water incentive package is the 10th and last item on the council agenda.

Where: In the Mayor and Council Chambers of Tucson City Hall, 255 W. Alameda St.

#saveTucson'swater