City officials said 11% of Mesa’s water customers are non-residential but consume 53% of all water used here. (City of Mesa)
Scott Shumaker
East ValleyTribune
Supply and demand models show Mesa has a sufficient water supply to cover significant increases in demand through 2040, but city officials can’t guarantee that.
Mesa Water Resources Director Chris Hassert on Sept. 14 cautioned the city council that there’s a lot of uncertainty in current projections of Mesa’s future water demands.
In a study session on the city’s future water supply versus demand, Hassert’s presentation showed the city can tap into numerous buckets to meet increases in water consumption.
His presentation showed the city has breathing room to accommodate “moderate growth” in water demand through 2040, when Hassert believes Mesa will hit peak water demand close to build-out.
His department’s analysis focused on the eastern and southern water zones of Mesa – regions are supplied with Colorado River water through the Central Arizona Project.
The western “city zone” served by SRP water is “more straightforward,” he said.
Mayor John Giles said that seeing the graphs of water supply and demand gave him “comfort.”
But he added that the data is also “a cautionary tale … that there is a compelling argument that we all need to be making for water conservation.”
