Tucson Gets It Right

Michael J. McGuire

Yesterday, Tucson Water turned on a new water supply to relieve the burden on an overdrafted groundwater resource. With a simple radio message to staff by Mayor Walkup, three pumps were activated moving recharged Colorado River Water (CRW) to the City of Tucson.

The new water supply consisting of a blend of groundwater-recharged CRW and local groundwater will ultimately replace the output from 26 wells that take water from the most dangerously overdrawn groundwater aquifer in the area. Hydrologists have warned of serious ground subsidence problems in central Tucson if nothing was done to stop the overdraft.

Water from the Clearwater project was available at the dedication ceremony in half-liter sports bottles so that everyone could quench their thirst. Over one million sports bottles containing the blended water have been distributed to consumers over the past two years.

"Producing these sports bottles has been a very satisfying professional experience for me because I have been able to share this new water supply with my friends and neighbors," said Katie Arnold, a Tucsonan and Senior Scientist with McGuire Environmental Consultants.

The Tucson Clearwater project is unique in the annals of water utility operations. It has been a logical outgrowth of two previous projects initiated by the utility - "At the Tap" and the Ambassador Neighborhood Program. The intense scientific studies and public relations efforts by Tucson are unprecedented. These efforts were necessary to overcome a public relations disaster during 1992-94 when a surface supply of CRW was introduced into the system. Color, taste and odor, and corrosion complaints overwhelmed the Tucson Water staff only days after the highly mineralized CRW was put into a distribution system containing poor quality pipe.

Since 1995, over 200 miles of corroded pipe has been replaced or relined. During this period, Tucson Water has worked hard to regain the trust of its customers. Regaining trust has required a combination of groundbreaking research studies and a unique, hugely successful public communications effort. One of the research studies just won a national publications award from the American Water Works Association and the overall project was honored with the Grand Prize for Planning by the American Academy of Environmental Engineers in 2000.

Improving communication of water quality data to customers has been a key part of the projects. "At the Tap" initiated a web site, telephone voice mail system, bill-stuffer communications, and newspaper reports to provide detailed and summarized water quality information to consumers.

The next logical step in 1999-2000 was the selection of four test  neighborhoods to receive the target blended water. Dubbed the Ambassador Neighborhood Program, the dozens of Tucsonans who were served the water over a three-month period were virtually unanimous in their praise of the blended supply. Several residents in the test neighborhoods were reluctant to go off the blend and return to their usual groundwater supply.

The communication effort by Tucson Water has culminated in the launch yesterday of a sophisticated web site where customers can click on a map to determine the water quality they are drinking. Anyone can access the web site at

http://www.ci.tucson.az.us/water/tsnwtr/quality/neighborhoodwq.htm

"There is no other water quality information system like this in the U.S.," said Jeff Rosen of TPMC, a key consultant to the Clearwater Project.

The web site will be improved and expanded to include an interactive mapping feature and data automatically uploaded from on-line water quality sensors at 22 locations in the system.

One of the critical efforts to improve the quality of the imported CRW supply was the use of a consumer panel of 100 customers to guide the selection of the proper water blend. The panel found that a blend target of 400 mg/L of mineral content (TDS) was acceptable and preferred by some over bottled water and the existing groundwater supply.

Taste and odor testing of the blended water has been expanded recently by the training of a Flavor Profile Analysis panel comprised of Tucson Water employees. Water produced by the Clearwater Project plus water sampled from the distribution system is submitted to these flavor experts every day during the project kickoff. They sniff and sip the water to make sure it is acceptable. Preliminary results from the panel show that the water from the Clearwater Project is free of objectionable tastes and odors and should be readily accepted by consumers.

"One of the lessons that other utilities can learn from us is that mistakes can be overcome with vision, expertise, and hard work," said Marie Pearthree, Deputy Director of Tucson Water. "We think that other water utilities could employ the same public education techniques we used to find out what their customers want and the deliver that quality to them."

"The project has come to fruition as a result of tremendous efforts by Tucson Water staff, consultants and regulatory agencies, plus the crucial support of our Mayor and Council," said David Modeer, Director of Tucson Water.

The hard work is not over. Tucson Water staff say they are committed to ensuring that this project will continue to produce high quality water for decades to come. They know they have to keep "getting it right" if their valuable groundwater resources are to be protected.

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