AWWA ACE56319

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.