Tucson Water provides current and historic water data for its service area. The USGS typically reports water usage data for the U.S, states, and counties every five years. The USGS works in cooperation with local, state, and federal environmental agencies to collect water-use information. We need a new economic vision in our new infrastructure age.

Geological Survey’s (USGS) National Water-Use Information Program compiles and publishes water-use data. spending on water infrastructure saw a sharper decline, falling 5.6 billion (3.8 percent) since 2007. reported a modest decrease of 22 GPCD in residential water use during this same period, which was a 21.0% decline. Arizona’s residential water use has remained relatively constant between 19 with only slight fluctuations. The city of Tucson has been proactive in encouraging water conservation by offering a wide range of rebates and incentive programs to residential and commercial customers. This is a reduction of 39 GPCD, or 32.2%, over 24 years. The city of Tucson posted a substantial decrease in residential water use, from a high of 121 gallons per capita per day in 1996 to only 82 GPCD in 2020. The western states tend to have higher rates of water usage due to their hot and dry climate. average was 83 and the state of Arizona was substantially higher at 146 GPCD. at 80 gallons per capita per day, while the U.S. When comparing residential water use in the U.S., state of Arizona, and city of Tucson during 2015, Tucson fell slightly below the U.S. This represents about 86% of the total U.S. In 2010 the United States Geological Survey reported that an estimated 268 million people relied on public-supply water for their household use. Water is used for residential, agricultural, commercial, and industrial purposes, but our focus is on the residential sector. Water is a finite resource with constant pressure on its availability, especially in the western U.S., where rapid population growth, coupled with a decade-long drought, has placed additional pressure on an already strained resource. Currently, the last year of GPCD published data for the U.S. New Mexico and Texas tied for the lowest amount of residential water usage at 81 GPCD, while Idaho had the highest rate at 186 GPCD. All the western states, except Texas and New Mexico used more water per capita each day than the U.S. Arizonans used 146 GPCD in 2015, 63 more GPCD than the average for the U.S. When compared to the 10 western states, Arizona ranked eighth during 2015 in residential water use. By 2015, Tucson’s water usage had dropped below the U.S. than to the state of Arizona, with 94 gallons per capita per day (GPCD).

In 2010, the city of Tucson had residential water usage rates closer to the U.S.

The city of Tucson has dramatically reduced residential water usage during the past two decades.

Average age of water infrastructure