The Flagstaff Story: Register Now for H2O Breakfast May 26th

Simple Stat:

Spokane County per capita water consumption: 235 gallons per day

Flagstaff Arizona per capital water consumption: 80 gallons per day

Why the difference? Unlike our region, Flagstaff is not surrounded by natural lakes and surface water. Their aquifer is very deep and expensive to mine. To continue to grow and prosper, Flagstaff has been at the forefront of water conservation for over 30 years, helping customers reduce their water use by 50% since 1988.

Register Now to learn from their story.

Flagstaff’s past is our region’s future. There is, after all, only so much water. And forecasters are telling us our region’s environment, quality of life and economy cannot sustain population growth and increased water demand without embracing a culture of water conservation.

Tamara Lawless, Flagstaff’s Water Conservation Manager, will share their water conservation story at the H20 Breakfast. Spoiler alert: it’s a positive story about coming together and working together.

In Flagstaff’s most recent Water Conservation Strategic Plan, a Decision Support System (think cost benefit analysis) was done. Over 100 possible measures were narrowed down to about 30. And through community outreach, the options were narrowed still further. The result was achieving consensus on water conservation that balances getting the best bang for the buck with the community’s social values and desires.

So whether it’s smart meters, rain barrels, educational outreach or agreeing to every other day watering, the community supports the investments and decisions being made. Said Lawless, “Because no two communities are alike, you should expect and respect differences. In the Phoenix metro-area, for instance, they work with residents to optimize irrigation practices for lawns and to ensure lawns are useful rather than ornamental. Our citizens put emphasis on different measures. It’s just about how you want to get to the water conservation needed.”

It’s this lens that allows Tamara to talk about her experiences with motivating behavioral change, determining what’s having the most impact, and when to use the carrot (voluntary measures) and the stick (enforced ordinances). And it helps that she has a Ph.D. in Sustainability. “When I became the Water Conservation Manager,” said Tamara “I got the experience of making things happen on the ground. It’s been a wonderful journey.”

As to the question of why Flagstaff is working as hard as ever on water conservation. Well, like our region, Flagstaff expects their population to almost double over the next 30 years. While there are plans to potentially develop new infrastructure to bring in additional water supplies, Flagstaff knows what all water purveyors know: it costs less and is more environmentally friendly to conserve and use water more efficiently than build and maintain expensive infrastructure.

Register Now to hear Tamara and the Flagstaff story.