Related articles:

Council OKs hike in rates for water

Other articles by Brian J. Pedersen:

Skrappy's settles into new digs Tucson youth center settles in to new Downtown location Three Tucson men indicted on child pornography counts 3 years given in ID theft; Honda patrons victims South Tucson looks at trash-pickup feesThose NM fireworks could bring fines, jail10 buildings have 63 violations Upright wing with doorway is an artistic flight of fancy Most of dirt put down on Tombstone street has been scraped away Tombstone's Allen Street gets a little less dirty

Administrative & Professional
Tucson Urban League
CEO/President Construction
West-Press
Printing Administrative & Professional
Jorgensen Brooks Group
Counselor Finance and Accounting
Charles E. Gillman Company
Accounting Specialist Mechanical
Komatsu Equipment Co
Resident Field Mechanic Health Care
Dependable Health Services
Physical Therapists Health Care
CENTRAL ARIZONA COLLEGE
DIRECTOR OF HEALTH INFORMATION MANAGEMENT

Long before much of Marana's farmland was being turned into housing tracts, town officials laid the groundwork for future conservation efforts to ensure that it never would run out of water.

More than a decade later, Marana is close to instituting some official water-use guidelines. A water-conservation ordinance containing a series of measures could be up for a vote by the Marana Town Council within the next 30 to 60 days.

"We've been working on this for several years," Utilities Director Brad DeSpain said. "We're just trying to stay ahead of the curve."

The measures, outlined in a presentation given to the council on April 8, are the result of a joint effort between the town and the Water Conservation Alliance of Southern Arizona. They would apply only to new construction in areas served by Marana Water, which covers nearly all of the Old Marana area and some sections of other parts of the town.

Among the measures, Marana would require any new development with at least a half-acre of landscapable area to have a separate water meter that charts the amount of water used to irrigate its turf and plants. The same goes for any existing development that expands its turf area to more than a half-acre.

"It's a real educational tool," Val Little, Water Conservation Alliance of Southern Arizona director, said of the dedicated turf water meter. "It has the ability to help someone save water, just because of their awareness of how much they're using."

Other measures include requiring all new commercial buildings to install waterless urinals in men's bathrooms and requiring new residential developments with average lots of 10,000 or more square feet to have plumbing infrastructure available for capturing gray water.

Using gray water — the water that has been used in sinks, tubs, showers and washing machines — for plant and lawn irrigation, Little noted, is a way for residents to save money on water bills.

"Because water is only going to get more expensive and more precious, we're trying to get ahead of the curve as far as certain houses making use of gray water," Little said. "It's not a very costly item, but if they were to go and try and retrofit a house, it just doesn't pay out."

The conservation measures also call for encouraging newly built neighborhoods to provide community pools in an effort to discourage individual pools in backyards.

Little said such pools would do more than just save water.

"We know that it enhances the fabric of the neighborhood," Little said.

However, the wording that was used in the presentation made to the council drew the ire of several council members, who felt the town was trying to make it harder for homeowners to put in their own pools.

"We don't want to go in and tell new neighborhoods that you can't have a pool," Mayor Ed Honea said at the April 8 council meeting. "I'd hate to get to the point where we become Big Brother."

DeSpain said that wasn't the intent of the measure, and his office is working with the alliance to reword the ordinance proposal for presentation again for council adoption in the next two months.

DeSpain said Marana has plenty of water and currently is not using so much that conservation efforts are necessary. But he added that the opportunity to institute water-saving guidelines now can prevent the town from ever having a shortage or be forced to limit use.

"We want to stay under our GPCD," DeSpain said.

GPCD stands for "gallons per capita per day," which is the average amount of water the Arizona Department of Water Resources allows Marana Water customers to use each day without being subject to mandated conservation efforts.

Marana's limit, DeSpain said, is 127 gallons per capita per day, though current use ranges between 123 and 124 gallons. DeSpain said the state water department is expected to lower Marana's cap to 123 by 2010, so getting some conservation efforts on the books now could help keep the town under its usage threshold.

"We expect to get a 10 percent savings out of these measures," DeSpain said, anticipating Marana's GPCD to drop to between 115 and 117 gallons.