The town of Kearny in Arizona is still on schedule to go dry later this summer, but officials say aggressive water conservation measures have bought them more time to find a fix.
Residents brought down water use by 32% over the past two weeks. The town was once on track to run out of water by July 15, but may now be able to stretch out supplies until August or September.
“We still have a zero day that we're facing,” said Curtis Stacy, Kearny’s mayor. “It's just further down the road.”
Kearny, a town of about 2,000 people in Pinal County, is about a 90-minute drive southeast of Phoenix. It pulls its water from the Gila River. Thanks to acutely dry conditions and a legal agreement from nearly 100 years ago, it won’t be able to collect its full share from the river this year.
Stacy said the crisis has drawn a lot of media attention to Kearny. That has increased awareness of Kearny’s plight with state and federal governments, and helped get residents on board with conservation efforts that include a prohibition on lawn watering, pool filling and car washing.
“Every small town that I've ever been in — and I've lived in many — loves to see their town on the news, whether it's good news or bad news,” he said. “They're naturally curious about what the story is about, and they read it, listen to it, or watch it. And that's really helping us get the message out amongst the entire community here.”
While residents are bringing down water consumption, Stacy said the town is working on a deal to keep taps flowing in the longer term.
Town officials have been working with other water users on the Gila to secure a temporary or permanent additional supply of water. That group has included the Gila River Indian Community, the San Carlos Irrigation Project and the mining companies ASARCO and Resolution Copper.
“We've had a very positive reaction from the people that are in a position to help us,” Stacy said, “And we're all working toward a viable and mutually agreeable solution.”
While Kearny’s exact situation is unique, other towns and cities around Arizona are scrambling to cope with a drier future and a complicated web of old laws governing water use.
Cuts to the Colorado River could hit the Phoenix area hard, and city officials around the region are making plans to prevent shortages like the one in Kearny.
This week, Phoenix unveiled the early makings of a new program for towns and cities facing shortages. The “Secure Water Arizona Program” — or SWAP — will create an emergency reserve of water and connect cities that are interested in buying and selling water from other cities and businesses.
The program, which is being designed in collaboration with the city of Tucson, is partially designed to help protect Arizona’s reputation. Big cities worry that water shortages in small towns could generate negative headlines about the state’s livability and drive away investment.
