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Tucson Water Resources

Tuscon, Arizona is located squarely in the Sonoran Desert, which means that while there's a huge amount of life and diversity there, water resources are not easy or plentiful to get at. As such, there's a lot of debate and concern about water resources, and the community has to use a variety of techniques to make sure that there is enough water to go around.

  1. Rain

    • While it is still a viable water resource, the amount of rain that falls in and around Tuscon, Arizona is a small amount. According to the official Tuscon, Arizona web page on water resources, the area receives 12 inches or less of rainfall per year. As such, this is the smallest resource that the area can claim for water.

    Reclaimed Water

    • Reclaimed or recycled water is water that's been treated at a treatment facility using ultraviolet light, chemical additives and other measures to make it useful for operations again. While not used for drinking water, because that would be unsafe and unsanitary, reclaimed water is used for irrigation and watering plants, sewage and other activities where Tuscon residents need to use water, but which water will never be used for drinking.

    Groundwater

    • Drilling deep into the ground allows access to the water table, which is the area that the natural water sinks down to where it's stored in the earth. Wells, if drilled deep enough, allow the city of Tuscon to pull water out of the ground for transportation to the residents. This water has been purified by the sediments, and thus it is clean and considered to be safe for drinking. This water is what flows from sinks, drinking fountains and other places that Tucson residents get water from.

    Recharge

    • Because so much of the groundwater is used in Tuscon, it's important that the aquifer gets recharged. Long distance water carrying, which is piping water from long distances that are outside of the Tuscon area and putting that water into the local aquifer, makes certain that the groundwater is replenished and it helps ensure that the water table doesn't get deeper into the ground than it already is.

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