Clean Air and Quality Water

Definition: Includes reduced pollution and provision of clean, potable water

• "We need to be most concerned about the pollution in our city. Let's do things to keep it from getting worse."
• "Provide good, drinkable water."
• "Guarantee clean water, clean air, and clean soil, preserving the beauty and livability of this environment."
• "Preserve our water, air, and natural beauty so it can be renewable, sustainable, and available to future generations."
• "Provide an environment that is not polluted. Please avoid becoming L.A. or Phoenix."

• Environmental Management - monitoring water quality near city landfills, managing remediation projects at city sites where contamination may exist, and promoting environmental initiatives such as recycling programs and air quality programs with other agencies
• Information Outreach - producing public service announcements, brochures, and public affairs programming for various air quality themes, solid waste programs, and water projects, and creating environmental education videos
• Operations - managing the city's compressed natural gas program and utilizing a waste stream minimization program for Fleet Services
• Parks and Recreation - maintaining 50,000 trees on public properties which contribute to clean air and using reclaimed water for irrigating turf and landscape to conserve and protect the aquifer
• Solid Waste Management - following federal, state, and local environmental regulations in the operation of landfills, using synthetic liners for future landfills, and managing landfill gas to protect the ozone layer
• Transportation - providing and promoting mass transit services, using compressed natural gas for buses, constructing bike and pedestrian pathways, alleviating traffic congestion through roadway and intersection improvements and signal synchronization, and monitoring stormwater quality
• Tucson Water - collaborating with various agencies to ensure that the quality of water delivered exceeds federal and state regulations

1. Number of days you can see Rincon Peak from Tumamoc Hill Looking from mountain peak to mountain peak across Tucson is a simple way to determine the clarity of our air, including the amount of pollution from auto emissions, which account for up to 75% of Tucson's air pollution.

Pima County Department of Environmental Quality, in conjunction with Arizona Department of Environmental Quality, monitors visible air pollution (urban haze) continuously using a video camera from partway up Tumamoc Hill oriented toward the Rincon Mountains (and also from a second site atop the County Health Building oriented due east). Video from Tumamoc Hill may be put on PCDEQ's website, and the Livable Tucson website in the near future.

2. Level of the aquifer The aquifer is the groundwater that exists below metropolitan Tucson. It is replenished naturally by rainwater and mountain runoffs, and is depleted by pumping by local water companies and individual homeowners. As the amount pumped exceeds the amount replenished, the level of the aquifer drops. The lower the water level, the higher the amount of undesirable minerals and dissolved solids.

This graph shows the average depth to water over time for all Tucson Water wells. The upward movement between 1990 and 1995 was due to CAP use, which was delivered in lieu of groundwater between November 1992 and October 1994.


Source: Tucson Water

3. Citizen satisfaction with water quality Citizen perceptions of water quality are a direct way to measure this. A citizen survey can be used to measure this indicator.

Source: Resident survey

4. Days that Tucson operated with no violations of federal clean air and water standards Federal agencies track compliance with national quality standards for air and water. Each year, the community can assess how many days that air and water in Tucson met these standards as an objective measure of environmental health.

Tucson has not violated federal air quality standards since 1990. As required by federal law, Tucson Water monitors drinking water to ensure that approximately 85 substances do not exceed established levels. The last reported violation was in 1995.

What YOU Can Do

• Educate yourself about air and water pollution
• Drive less (auto exhaust produces approximately 70% of air pollution in Tucson)
• Use manual- or electric-powered instead of gas-powered mechanisms (lawnmowers, weed-eaters, cars)
• Reduce, Reuse and Recycle. Waste disposed of in the landfill can produce leachate, a toxin which may contaminate groundwater
• Use less water: install low-flow showers, use a drip system for watering plants, turn off the faucet during teeth brushing, collect rainwater off your roof for use during dry times, plant low water use trees and foliage, and only use dishwashers and washing machines when they are full