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    • The Water Resources Unit (WRU)

    WRU provides outreach and collaboration with external stakeholders on water resource issues by serving as County representation among numerous advisory groups;
    WRU administers the County component of state drought planning and meets to advise on drought status and review County drought planning in support of the Arizona Drought Preparedness Plan;
    WRU is acting as co-manager with the Bureau of Reclamation in a three-year study of the Lower Santa Cruz River Basin (LSCRB). The in-kind study offers Bureau technical expertise in applying climate change models to water supply and demand scenarios, charting the potential range of water imbalance in the region and developing adaptive management strategies to mitigate imbalance and climate change. The LSCRB Study builds upon the Bureau’s Colorado River Basin Study and the valuable data may be of use to a Lower Santa Cruz River Management Plan.
    The County’s Water Policy (F 54.9) as adopted by the Board of Supervisors required an implementation plan, the Water Resources Asset Management Plan (WRAMP), drafted by the Water Management Committee (WMC) which is steered by the Water Rights Team. WRU is responsible for both an Annual Report Card and administering Water Rights Team meetings in the effort of establishing a GIS-based information database of water rights, well inventory and storage credits in coordination with other departments, per the Water Policy. Packaged within WRAMP is a Strategic Plan for Use of Reclaimed Water (SPUR), drafted by WRU with periodic updates possible. In addition, WRU continues to monitor progress of completed Board adopted goals and recommendations of the City/County Water Study. An important use of reclaimed water is the Conservation Effluent Pool; established by the City of Tucson and Pima County, it enables up to 10,000 acre-feet of effluent from the metropolitan sewage treatment facilities to be directed for use in future riparian projects.

    Pima County is in the water business in ways you may not expect - land use policy, conservation planning, drought monitoring, recreation and riparian habitat projects, groundwater replenishment, stormwater management, effluent production and utilization and sustainability programming are all part of County water resource planning. For more information on how Pima County is a regional water resource partner, see the Water Resources Narrative.
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    Office of Sustainability and Conservation

    201 N. Stone Ave., 6th FL
    Tucson, AZ 85701

    (520) 724-6940


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