In response to water quality problems associated with the direct delivery of treated Central
Arizona Project (CAP) water from the City's Hayden-Udall Water Treatment Plant between
1992 and 1994, Tucson initiated a Customer Focus on Water Quality Program (CFWQP), also
known as "At The Tap". The primary goal of this program is to work collectively with the
utility's customers to determine an acceptable and affordable future water quality, literally "at
the tap", in area homes and businesses. The CFWQP was implemented in April 1997 as part of
implementation of the Clearwater Renewable Resource Facility. Clearwater is a phased CAP
water recharge and recovery program under construction in the Avra Valley west of Tucson
adjacent to the Tucson Aqueduct of the CAP. The goal of Clearwater is to recharge and recover
up to 60,000 acre-feet of CAP water annually beginning in 2001 to replace an equivalent amount
of mined groundwater pumping by the City in central Tucson, historically causing average water
table declines of about four feet per year.
The utility conducted bench- and pilot-scale iron release testing of the impact of various blends
of CAP water and groundwater on extracted galvanized steel water distribution piping as well as
structured flavor profile taste testing by customers of various blends. Subsequently, the City
developed water quality parameters for mitigating previous adverse characteristics. These
parameters were used to develop a CAP/groundwater blend for potable demonstration for three
months in each of four selected volunteer neighborhoods (a total demonstration period of one
year). The demonstration program used a fast-track design/build approach and portable water
storage, treatment, hauling, and pumping facilities which were designed, permitted, constructed,
and placed into operation in less than four months for the first neighborhood. The demonstration
program, also termed the "Ambassador Neighborhoods Program" by the City, included the
following elements:
creation of neighborhood contact teams to respond to customer questions and to solicit
feedback about the new blended supply; and,
free distribution of blended water in five-gallon dispensers and half-liter sports bottles at
dozens of public and private facilities and public events throughout metropolitan Tucson.
As a result of extensive forethought by Tucson Water management and its consultant team and
hard work by hundreds of dedicated operational staff, the utility began delivering 20,000 acrefeet
per year in the first phase of recovered Clearwater supply on May 3, 2001. The blended
water is primarily native groundwater at this time but will gradually transition to renewable
Central Arizona Project water as more water is recharged and recovered from the facility. The
blend has been very well received by the community, as reflected in the utility's receiving no
customer complaints to date specific to the new source.
Includes tables, figures.
| Edition : | Vol. - No. |
| File Size : | 1
file
, 990 KB |
| Note : | This product is unavailable in Ukraine, Russia, Belarus |
| Number of Pages : | 16 |
| Published : | 06/16/2002 |
