Pima County asks Tucson to reconsider differential water rates

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TUCSON, Ariz. (KOLD News 13) – The Pima County Board of Supervisors urges Tucson Mayor Regina Romero and city council to reconsider their plan to bill residents in unincorporated areas more water than residents within the city limits.

On June 22nd, Tucson City Council voted 7-0 to continue its multi-tariff plan. On August 10th, the council decided to continue on this path and scheduled a public hearing for October 19th.

A customer out of town could pay up to 40% more per month, and the council said the change could raise nearly $ 10 million more per year.

For the average customer consuming less than 5,236 gallons per month, the increase is about $ 48 per year. Those consuming more than 33,000 gallons a month could see their bills skyrocket by more than $ 1,440 a year.

On August 12th, the Pima County Board of Directors issued the following press release.

“We are working to solve this problem in such a way that the water supply is protected and the costs are not placed disproportionately on a class of water customers,” said CEO and Dist. 3 Supervisor Sharon Bronson said.

The inquiries that the superiors direct to the city guides include:

• Repeal of recent measures that have created a differential tariff system
• Calling on the city to honor previous commitments as head of regional water resources management
• Allow the county to participate in a legitimate urban cost study
• Commitment to a tariff structure based on service costs, regardless of jurisdiction boundaries

A 1979 intergovernmental agreement between the city and the county established the agreement that Pima County would provide regional sewage services and Tucson water for the area. The agreement also established an obligation to treat customers equally in both legal systems.

“Pima County is the only administrative entity committed to the concept of equal service for all users of the urban system regardless of jurisdiction,” the 1979 agreement states.

The overseers also urged city guides to set up a water sustainability fund to supplement the water supply for the region. The county would also agree to create a water sustainability fund and jointly use the collections to obtain “drought insurance” by purchasing surface water supplies from the Central Arizona Project and recharging that water in regional aquifers for future use when needed stand.

The board passed a resolution in April against Tucson Water’s plan to charge different service rates for customers outside of Tucson’s city limits. The city later adopted a different water tariff structure, but only selected customers in the unincorporated areas for higher tariffs.

District officials said they were concerned that such a tariff structure was introduced without clear justification or without conducting a cost analysis. In addition, the tariff structure coupled with the city’s policy of refusing to expand water supplies to new customers outside the city limits would effectively force new developments to acquire groundwater drilling permits, further reducing groundwater supplies.

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