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City and county leaders want to revive the idea of regional water cooperation in the wake of the defeat of Proposition 200 in Tucson.

City Councilwoman Karin Uhlich and Pima County Supervisors Richard Elias and Sharon Bronson, in a letter sent Friday, asked Tucson City Manager Mike Hein and County Administrator Chuck Huckelberry to develop a proposal for a regional water study.

"We recognize that water issues are at the forefront of our community's concern at this time, and we support a collaborative effort to better plan our area's water future," the letter says. "We ask that you keep in mind the issues of concern raised by Proposition 200."

The initiative, which would have severely limited city use of reclaimed water and cut off new water connections when growth outstrips the reliable water supply, was soundly defeated last week.

But elected officials said conversation around the initiative changed the political climate, making a serious discussion of water possible.

"Water is a much more important issue than we realized and a more delicate one," Elias said. "Everyone realized that Prop. 200 touched a lot of issues that matter to people."

In February 2006, the Southern Arizona Water Users Authority pitched the idea of a regional water authority. Each water provider would maintain its own distribution system and customers but would work together to find new water supplies for the region.

Tucson Water, Metro Water, Marana and Pima County all backed the idea, in theory at least, but when the county asked the Tucson City Council to participate in a joint study of regional water issues, the council balked.

Uhlich said many council- members were concerned that the outcome was preordained.

"Different groups were advocating to jump to an outcome, like a water authority, without defining a set of goals and values," she said.

"It's like saying 'let's get married' before you've evaluated whether you both want children or want to live in the same city."

Uhlich said this time she wants to go slow — asking Hein and Huckelberry to propose a set of goals and a scope of work for a joint study before asking the council to support the study.

"We want to make sure whatever study we might jointly undertake would really take on the key questions that have been circulating," she said.

Those questions include looking at the water infrastructure, water supply and water needs and costs, including the cost of maintaining aging infrastructure.

"We need to make sure the current population has absolute assurance of clean water," Uhlich said. "That may be our first goal."

Mark Stratton, general manager of Metro Water District, said the study was a good first step, but he hopes the city and county include the smaller water providers.

"The two big entities aren't the only ones in the region," Stratton said. "To truly have a discussion about regional water issues, you need to have everyone at the table. It can't just be Tucson and Pima County."

He said ideally any regional water authority would be outside the control of any political body because the public doesn't trust the existing elected bodies to make regional decisions.

The call for more regional water planning comes as Marana and Pima County are involved in litigation over whether Marana will take over a portion of the county's sewer system. Marana wants the system to get access to the effluent.

Bronson said she hopes the smaller jurisdictions will participate.

She questioned whether Marana would be pursuing its own sewer system if a more serious effort at regional water cooperation had been made earlier.

"Water is the limiting factor to growth in the valley," she said. "Taking a piecemeal approach will spell disaster, both economically and ecologically."

Marana Utilities Director Brad DeSpain said he had "great concern" if the city and county don't include the smaller jurisdictions.

"I know it's hard to work with a big group, but I think you need to see everyone at the table," he said.

Uhlich also said she wants to see the smaller jurisdictions included.

But Elias said the city and county need to get on the same page before reaching out to other water providers.

"We are the two regional providers," Elias said, referring to the city's role as a major water provider and the county's role as wastewater provider.

"I think it makes a lot of sense for these entities to get these things going. Of course, we need to represent the other jurisdictions carefully and take their interests into account. That's regionalism."