Last Tuesday, September 22nd, during the Mayor and Council’s Regular Meeting public forum, community members came together to make their voices heard. We want to thank everyone who took the time to call or email in advance and those who spoke at the forum to show their support for the proposed changes.
The Mayor and Council approved several additional amendments to the ordinance. The three significant changes were as follows:
-
preventing large water users from avoiding the ordinance by dividing their water demand among multiple meters
-
lowering the threshold from 10,000 ccfs/mo to 8,500 ccfs/mo, and
-
directing staff to come back in 120 days with a proposal to require water conservation practices of water users exceeding 5,000 ccfs/mo.
Staff was also directed to inform the Mayor and Council when a large water user exceeds their approved water usage amount.
Although the Mayor and Council did not lower the threshold to 2,500 ccfs/mo nor implement the water use offset requirements we recommended, this ordinance continues to be a living document.
We will continue to recommend changes that lead us towards being hydro-local stewards of our shared waters. We are thankful for everyone in our community who took the time to speak, and continues to make their voice heard. Your voice is always important!
We recommend checking out Tucson Agenda for more information.