“We’re looking at very large cuts starting next year. Those cuts could get much worse,” said Max Wilson, water resource management advisor for the City of Phoenix.
Phoenix officials expect to move to Stage 2 of the city’s Drought Management Plan as early as January, AZ Family reported. The shift comes as Arizona prepares for reductions in its Colorado River supply, which provides approximately 40% of the city’s drinking water.
New federal operating guidelines will reduce water deliveries to Lower Basin states by 1.25 million acre-feet annually starting in 2027 and 2028. Under a proposed sharing agreement, Arizona is expected to absorb 760,000 acre-feet of those reductions. City officials project that Phoenix’s share of Colorado River water could decline by approximately 30%.
While recent rainfall has increased levels in the Salt and Verde River systems, the city stated that these gains do not offset the coming cuts to the Colorado River supply. Phoenix has remained in Stage 1, or “Water Alert,” status since June 2022. Moving to Stage 2, or “Water Warning,” signifies that normal supplies are insufficient and that demand-reduction measures are necessary.
Phoenix is preparing to enter Stage 2 of its Drought Management Plan in January, asking residents for a voluntary 5% cut in water use as Colorado River supply reductions loom. https://t.co/cGzmoCnPYQ pic.twitter.com/ypCbip3Ih8
The city plans to implement a temporary drought surcharge for customers who exceed specific monthly water usage thresholds. One unit of water equals 748 gallons, and the surcharge will cost $2.10 per unit for consumption above the following limits:
- Residential: Above 20 units per month
- Commercial: Above 300 units per month
- Industrial: Above 15,000 units per month
The surcharge applies only to usage exceeding these thresholds. According to city projections, the measure would impact an estimated 16% of residential bills, 7% of commercial bills, and 1% of industrial bills. The city expects the surcharge to generate approximately $40 million to fund conservation programs and infrastructure projects, such as the Bartlett Dam expansion.
City officials are asking residents and businesses to voluntarily reduce their water consumption by 5%, while city departments aim for a 10% reduction. To support these goals, the city is increasing incentives for water-efficiency upgrades, including raising the grass-removal incentive to $4 per square foot and the smart irrigation controller incentive to $150.
“We’ve spent decades preparing for the challenges we’re facing today, and those investments have put us in a good position,” said Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego. “But the cuts from the federal government require us to take further action.”
The city is also continuing to develop long-term water sources, including the Pure Water Phoenix initiative and regional groundwater recovery infrastructure. While city leaders emphasize that water service will not be interrupted, Wilson stated that the city must change its operations to adapt to the lower supply.
“We don’t mean you’re going to go to your faucet and no water is going to come out,” Wilson told AZ Family. “We mean that we are going to have to start changing our operations.”
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