BEHIND THE
METER
O R O VA L L E Y W AT E R U T I L I TY N E W S L E T T E R
WINTER 2021
A MESSAGE FROM OUR DIRECTOR Throughout history as communities grew, new water infrastructure was constructed to supply this vital resource to an increasing number of people. The Town of Oro Valley is no different. Since 1996, our population has more than doubled and the number of water system connections has grown from 9,800 services to over 21,000 services. Today, serving nearly 47,000 residents the Oro Valley Water Utility is Southern Arizona’s second largest municipal water service provider. To fulfill the department’s mission of the continued delivery of high-quality Peter Abraham, P.E. drinking water that meets and exceeds all regulatory requirements, the Utility has planned a systematic and Water Utility Director responsible multi-year Capital Improvement Program (CIP). This program provides the necessary upgrades to over 375 miles of pipelines, 26 pump stations, 16 reservoirs, 18 wells and 4 Central Arizona Project delivery interconnects. These assets are valued at 100 million dollars and their ability to operate without interruption allows us to provide you with high-quality drinking water services that you have come to expect from your public water system. The Utility’s CIP details the five-year scheduling of water infrastructure improvements and expansion projects. The plan aligns with the Town’s Planning goals and is based on the Utility’s 2018 Water Master Plan. The Utility reassesses the CIP goals and how to accomplish those goals each year. The CIP is flexible and can be altered as conditions, funding, priorities and regulations change. Although capital projects are scheduled throughout a five-year planning horizon, only those projects with activity scheduled during the first year are financed and adopted. Every year the utility re-invests between 1-3 million dollars in the Communities existing water system. All of the costs associated with CIP are financed and paid for solely through the water rates and fees that customers pay and not by taxes or the Town’s General Fund. In closing, with continued comprehensive CIP planning, sufficient infrastructure re-investments and a good stewardship of our assets the Utility’s water infrastructure will continue to reliably supply this vital resource to our community.
Looking forward,
Peter Abraham
Pictured: In 2021 the utility completed the replacement of a reservoir that had reached the end of it’s service life. Perpetual Capital reinvestments like this ensures our community of a reliable and safe water system.
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