The Tempe Recreation District may use more than a million gallons of water per day

Analysis of water flow obtained from the City of Tempe indicates that the proposed Arizona Coyotes and tempe entertainment district.

While water officials say that figure is modest compared to typical city water usage, the recreation district won’t use water from the city’s largest and most sustainable source. Instead, it will come from remaining sources of Tempe’s water supply that are less sustainable or reliable, such as the Central Arizona Project, a 336-mile diversion channel that brings water from the Colorado River to central and southern Arizona .

according to City of Tempe Water Resources Master Plan Published in August 2021, about 82% of the city’s water comes from Salt River Project Surface Water Member Supplies. The water can only be used on land within the boundaries of the SRP Private Water Association, Salt River Basin Water Users Association. These lands are often referred to as SRP member lands.

As with most developments along the Salt River, Coyotes wants to build on land that is not on SRP member land and therefore cannot draw water from the SRP’s surface water supply. SRP Association board member Randy Miller confirmed that SRP will not supply water directly to the area. Water for the area will come from limited supplies of CAP water, groundwater, and Roosevelt Lake.

read more: Tempe special election at Arizona Coyotes Arena and Recreation District explained

Nikki Ripley, Tempe’s communications and media relations manager, said in an email, “The identified preliminary traffic forecast (Tempe Recreation District) has limited potential impact on existing infrastructure and is consistent with our overall existing planning.”

Recreation Area Water Details

An October 2022 analysis obtained from the city shows average daily gallon traffic for seven types of residential units, office space, convention hotels, arenas, food courts and more attractions in the area. One million gallons of water is enough to power about nine single-family homes in Arizona for a year.

According to the analysis, the arena is expected to use as much as 400,000 gallons of water on days when it hosts a live event, such as a Coyotes home game. During the 2018-19 season, the team’s final season before the COVID-19 pandemic, the Coyotes played 41 regular-season games at the Gila River Arena (now known as the Desert Diamond Arena) in Glendale .

The rightmost column of the graph is the approximate water flow measured in million gallons per day (MGD). It reflects the number in the left column, which is the average flow “gpd” or gallons per day.

Victor Aronow, an attorney who has lived in Tempe for nearly 50 years, said the study likely underestimated the project’s total water use because the document did not include water designed for coyote practice and community use. A second planned ice rink or live music venue for the project.

Tempe’s water mix compared to recreational area water use

The area, located on the northeast corner of Priest Drive and Rio Salado Parkway, will lose access to most of the city’s water system.according to City of Tempe 2021 Consumer Confidence Reportthe city distributes an average of 42.3 million gallons of drinking water to citizens each day.

The City of Tempe is responsible for supplying the project with the city’s remaining 18 percent of its water resources, which come from three sources, according to the master plan. One is CAP, which the master plan says is primarily used to meet the water needs of land not entitled to SRP water, such as the land the coyotes want to build on.

Seven states in the Southwest, including Arizona, rely heavily on reservoirs fed by the Colorado River to supply the region’s fast-growing population. The New York Times reported earlier this month President Joe Biden’s administration has proposed cutting water supplies to Arizona’s Colorado River to a quarter of current levels amid the current prolonged drought.

The difference is made up by groundwater, which is regulated nationally under the Groundwater Management Act 1980, and new protected space water from the SRP. This water is not limited to SRP member lands, but comes from the improved Roosevelt Dam, and changes from year to year.

according to May 2021 Report Arizona State University’s Kyl Water Resources Policy Center says current law allows overallocation of Arizona’s groundwater supply, creating unsustainable levels of pumping that could endanger the state’s groundwater aquifers.

“Each development plan is independently reviewed for impact on existing water infrastructure and water resource mix. Impacts on all existing and proposed water use in Tempe are then considered through a master plan,” Ripley said in an email said in. “Tempe is fortunate to have a diverse and robust water portfolio.”

Sustainability and Water Programs for Recreational Districts

Rhett Larson, Professor of Water Law ASU’s Sandra Day O’Connor School of LawSince the project would fall outside of SRP member land, “if it were in the area, it wouldn’t be as well watered,” it said in an email.

He said the region was still a very small water user in an area where water was fairly secure.

Arizona Coyotes President and CEO Xavier Gutierriez said the water flow forecast assumes “peak use” across the region, meaning it reflects the days when the region will experience its greatest water demand. He also said the Tempe City Council voted 7-0 to pass the referendum after city staff analysis showed Coyotes had guaranteed water for the project, as did state law for all developments with more than five units .

Tempe Mayor Corey Woods said the project’s nearly 2,000 apartments use less water than other forms of housing and said he has confidence in the city’s internal processes to ensure the development does not jeopardize the city’s long-term water supply. Resource prospects.

woods says Office of Urban Sustainability and Resilience Responsible for conservation and energy efficiency standards. He also said the city sometimes hires third-party experts to ensure water safety for new developments.

“I would say that this project, like others that we have approved … is not only consistent with land use, but with our energy, energy efficiency and water conservation goals,” Woods said.

Backers of the project have touted its potential environmental benefits, which often center around removing landfills. Tempe winsA pro-development political action committee has called landfills “dangerous” since the PAC was formed in December 2022.

At a press conference in March, Tempe Wins chairman Nick Bastian said he thought concerns about the project’s water use were “ridiculous”.

“That hockey arena doesn’t use a lot of water,” Bastian said. “When you look at other commercial developments in the area, when you look at golf courses, when you look at any type of urban amenity, they’re not going to be big water users.”

Gutierrez cites R&D park under construction ASU’s Novus Innovation Corridor and Other planned developments along Tempe Town Lake As with any other project that requires careful inspection of water use.

“One of the questions we ask those who criticize our approach is: Are similar questions being asked of all the other developments happening along the Tempe Township Lake?” Gutierrez said. “Because the last thing we want is to be singled out as the only development going on, I think a lot of these water issues need to be addressed.”

Total water use isn’t the only consideration when evaluating a project of this scope, Larson said. Tempe Wins claims the project will create 6,900 new jobs.

“How many jobs are you creating per drop of water?” Larsen said.

what happens next

Approval of the project is contingent on the passage of all three proposals in a May 16 special election, Props. 301, 302 and 303. The proposals would approve rezoning and changes to the city’s master plan, as well as the sale of 46 acres to Coyotes owner Alex Meruelo’s development firm, Bluebird Development LLC.

Bluebird of Meruelo will be responsible for building a new 16,000-seat Arizona Coyotes Stadium, a nearly 350,000-square-foot shopping and dining complex, and nearly 2,000 housing units. The project proposal also includes an on-site sports betting facility and a second rink that will serve as a practice facility and community rink.

The development comes at a pivotal time in the history of the Colorado River. The river’s two main reservoirs, Lake Mead and Lake Powell, not only supply the Southwestern states with water, their dams also generate hydroelectric power to power homes and businesses. Water levels in the reservoirs have recently dropped so low that they may have reached stagnant water, meaning the dams will soon no longer be able to generate electricity.

The special election is the final hurdle in the Coyotes’ multiyear campaign to find a new home after a tumultuous 19-year tenure in Glendale.Coyote recently completed Their first season at ASU Mullett Arenathey will live here for at least the next two seasons.

Woods said the decision to put the public to a vote was purposeful, to give voters a say in the development, especially when the city council typically votes on everything else.

“We know that whenever you’re talking about professional sports teams and arenas, those are always contentious situations given what’s going on across the country,” Woods said. “…we think it’s better not to have council make the final decision in this situation, but our residents to make the final decision.”

Voting is due on May 16th. If approved by voters, the first phase of the project, which includes the arena, could be completed sometime in 2025.

Edited by Shane Brennan, Piper Hansen and Greta Forslund.

contact reporter awakefi3@asu.edu and follow @_alexwakefield on twitter.

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