Tucson News NowOro Valley and Tucson Water deal

Oro Valley is considered a water hotspot.

That is, its aquifer is dropping because it uses water much faster than it replenishes it.

It's not a new problem.

It's been going on for a couple of decades, but now it's able to do something about it.

In a historic agreement, the town will pay Tucson Water $800,000 a year to use its pipes and pumps.

Generally, it goes like this.

Tucson Water built the infrastructure in Oro Valley decades ago to serve people in the area and prepare for future growth. 

Because Tucson Water customers have been so good at conservation, there's extra capacity in the pipes.

Oro Valley needs to get its allocation of CAP water into the aquifer to halt the depletion, which is three feet a year for the past five years. 

Tucson Water has the pipes.

Oro Valley has the problem.

So an agreement was reached.

"It shows jurisdictions can work together to make agreements that benefits everyone," says Oro Valley Mayor Satish Hiremath.

Tucson Water officials, the mayor of Tucson, Jonathan Rothschild, and the Oro Valley mayor, held a joint ceremony to turn on the tap, allowing CAP water to flow.

Oro Valley could have built its own water system to handle the water load but the cost would have exceeded $70 million, a debt service of at least $5 million a year.

Or it could write a check to Tucson Water.

It opted to write a check.

Under the agreement, Oro Valley will pump 1500 acre feet a year into the ground, enough to serve 20% of its water needs.

"We no longer have to pump as much ground water and worry about the depletion of the aquifer," Hiremath says. "We always have to worry, but not as much."

But the average homeowner in Oro Valley, will see a bit of a difference in the water quality.

The CAP water will be blended with the groundwater, a problem Tucson faced a few years ago when it switched from groundwater to blended water.

"There may be a minor difference," says Oro Valley waer director Philip Saletta. ""But for the most part, our customers won't even notice a difference."

The agreement is called historic because Oro Valley is the first municipality to agree to this type of arrangement. The Pasqua Yaqui Nation has already started the process known as "wheeling."

Because problems persist is other parts of the Tucson Valley, Tucson Water is hoping other communities follow suit.

Oro Valley officials say the deal also frees then up to point growth and annexation into certain areas.

Conservation groups are already on board because it uses water from the Colorado River to help replenish the water table here.

While this recharge effort in Oro Valley will not stop the aquifer from going down, it will slow the rate of depletion.