Rodney Glassman is a Democrat representing Ward 2 on the Tucson City Council.

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Last month I asked our Tucson City Council to create a dedicated funding source for water conservation. Tucsonans have historically done a good job conserving, but we all know there is much more we can do.

According to Tucson Water, we use roughly 105 gallons per person per day, less than half that of our neighbors to the north. This has been accomplished by investing in public-information campaigns, working with educators and assisting commercial developments in reducing use.

I know the positive impact of educating communities about water management. But why conserve more when less water use means higher water rates and when our city leadership continues to allow for growth?

The majority of our water department expenses can be described as fixed. This means that the costs will be incurred no matter how much water is supplied. Arizona has a "use it or lose it" policy on Colorado River water rights, so our city must buy its total allocation each year or risk losing it in the future.

Additionally, maintaining existing infrastructure and providing services to existing customers must be done no matter how much water is used. As with any business, the city must divide its fixed costs by the amount of product it sells. The less water sold, the higher the price must be to cover the fixed costs.

As for growth, in a community where 30 percent of our jobs come from the construction industry, it is unrealistic to simply say, "We need to stop growth to save water."

Pima County already requires low-flow toilets on new homes and a new City Council task force is creating ordinances to require gray-water plumbing on new residences and rain-water harvesting on new commercial developments.

Tucson's most inefficient water users are our existing homes, with their aging infrastructure. Additionally, according to Tucson Water, more than 45 percent of the water used in single-family residences and more than 35 percent of commercial water use is for landscaping.

Since 2005, the Tucson Water Department Community Conservation Taskforce has worked to develop a water-conservation plan. This diverse group began by narrowing 122 potential conservation measures to 48 that underwent cost-benefit analysis, ultimately leading to a recommendation of 19 conservation measures.

The recommendations, which range from rebates and incentives for low-flow toilets to redesigning landscaping ordinances, have an annual price tag of $2.1 million and would result in net savings of 12,000 acre-feet (nearly 4 billion gallons) per year of Central Arizona Project Water.

Our City Council is planning to fully fund these recommendations, as well as our current conservation efforts, with the proposed dedicated funding source so that all Tucsonans can participate in conservation.

Councilwoman Karin Uhlich proposed that we hold a series of town halls to educate Tucsonans on what the city has planned and to allow for feedback. Over the coming months, Tucson Water, in conjunction with the Office of Sustainability and the Department of Community Services, will be hosting town halls in each ward office.

The first town hall will take place April 3 at 7 p.m. at the Ward 2 council office at 7575 E. Speedway.

Please join us in this effort because only by creating a community-wide dialogue today will we be able to preserve our community's most precious resource and continue healthy, sustainable growth for Tucson's future.