COT NEWS RELEASE: City of Tucson | Tucson Water Secures Federal Partnership Agreement for Up To $125 Million in Underground Water Storage Expansion

The City of Tucson | Tucson Water and the Bureau of Reclamation (BOR), an agency of the U.S. Department of the Interior, have entered into a partnership agreement providing up to $125 million in federal funding to expand the Southern Avra Valley Storage and Recovery Project (SAVSARP), a state-permitted underground water-storage facility. SAVSARP is one part of the Water Bank of Tucson program, the City's name for the regional aquifer recharge and recovery projects developed and operated for water resource management. 

The System Conservation Implementation Agreement funds planning, design, and construction to increase SAVSARP’s annual storage capacity from 75,000 acre-feet to as much as 140,000 acre-feet. This expansion increases the facility’s capacity to store federally derived water.

The project agreement is also designed to allow the future development of recovery infrastructure to transport recovered water to nearby Tribal lands, supporting the Bureau of Reclamation’s federal obligations to Tribal communities and coordinated regional water management. 

A companion storage agreement establishes how the BOR will use the facility. It provides the BOR or its designee a right of first refusal for annual storage capacity, with the volume governed by the System Conservation Implementation Agreement. Water stored on the BOR’s behalf remains accounted for separately from Tucson Water’s supplies. 

The City of Tucson will retain operational control of SAVSARP. The BOR will compensate the City for storage through a fee designed to cover Tucson Water’s operation, maintenance, replacement, and administrative costs. Payment may be made in funds, long-term water-storage credits, or a combination of both, under the agreement’s terms. Storage and recovery remain subject to applicable state permits and water-accounting requirements. 

"This latest agreement continues the successful decades long partnership between the City of Tucson and the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation," said Mayor Regina Romero. "Responsible water stewardship means making the most of every drop available to our community and planning with our partners today for the challenges we know are ahead. In the desert southwest, preparing for drought and changing river conditions requires us to plan decades ahead. Expanding the Water Bank of Tucson, with the BOR, will further strengthen our ability to prepare for drought and the changing climate, protecting a reliable water future for the generations that will call Tucson and Southern Arizona home, while supporting our Tribal partnerships as we work together on stronger regional water management."

“This expanded investment for our region by the BOR in Tucson builds on the infrastructure our community has developed over decades," stated City Manager Tim Thomure. "It expands our water banking capacity while keeping facility operations under City control and establishing compensation for the storage services we provide. This partnership strengthens Tucson’s infrastructure and puts it to work for both local and regional water management.” 

Tucson Water Director John Kmiec stated, “Water storage is a critical part of managing supplies in the desert southwest. The unique geology of the Avra Valley Basin makes this location ideal for aquifer storage projects. This expansion of the Water Bank of Tucson, in partnership with the BOR, will increase the amount of water that can be stored locally underground each year. It also allows for the potential development of recovery infrastructure to deliver water to neighboring communities."

The project advances Tucson Water’s long-term water resource planning established in the One Water 2100 Plan, which brings together responsible water stewardship, smart infrastructure investment, and sustainable management of water supplies. The project is expected to be completed by federal fiscal year 2032.