SCOTTSDALE, AZ — Scottsdale is facing a future with less water from the Colorado River, but at least in the short-term, residents may not feel much impact.
The city is anticipating a 17% cut in its Colorado River supply as soon as January. But city officials say the impact on residents won't be immediate, because the city is not currently using all of its allocation — leaving a buffer between the cuts and what's actually used.
"We have a lot of water. Our taps are not running dry," Scottsdale City Councilwoman Jan Dubauskas said.
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At a council meeting this week, leaders outlined options to lock in new water sources. Those options have estimated costs from a few million to hundreds of millions of dollars.
"That means water rates may go up because we are going to have to put in infrastructure," City Councilwoman Maryann McAllen said.
Short-term, the city is looking at expanding a pumping station and importing water from the Harquahala Basin, about 60 miles west of Phoenix. Both projects will require new infrastructure.
For now, the city remains in Stage 1 drought — a status in place since 2021. That means water conservation is encouraged, not required.
Longer-term, at least one councilmember is pushing to turn recycled wastewater into drinking water — a process called toilet-to-tap. But there's not funding for that new infrastructure currently in the budget.
"There is no silver bullet. There is silver buckshot. We're going to need this water and this water and this water," City Councilwoman Solange Whitehead said.
Scottsdale resident Doug Kobrick says he wants the city to be innovative.
"The status quo that we've really enjoyed for several decades is over, and we're in a new and challenging era," he said.
