Federal funding appears to be on the way for a water infrastructure project in a fast-growing section of Tucson.
Members of the U.S. House have now passed the Thomas R. Carper Water Resources Development Act of 2024 which provides upwards of $80 million for a variety of water projects in Arizona.
The largest chunk of that funding, at $30 million, will go to the expansion of what is known as the City of Tucson’s Reclaimed Water System.
That system includes more than 200 miles of pipe and is nationally known as one of the most comprehensive approaches in the nation to using reclaimed water. The effort has seen 14,000-acre feet per year of water already used by people reclaimed and put through a purification process to be used again for irrigation purposes.
The new legislation will fund the design and construction of an expansion into the southern portion of Tucson Water’s service area, otherwise known as the Southlands.
According to a press release issued from the offices of Arizona Congressman Raul Grijalva, the Southlands is where “large industrial water users are sitting their factories” and new housing developments are going up.
In a statement, Tucson Mayor Regina Romero said the new federal funding will help Tucson “continue to lead in water conservation and resilience.”
The legislation is now being reviewed by the U.S. Senate.
December 19, 2024
By Garry Boulard
