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Ensuring an adequate water supply is one of my major campaign platform items as a candidate for Marana Town Council. I have provided true, fact-based data and analysis of the current water situation, all supported by my 40-year career in the water utility industry.

Let’s clear the muddied waters with the following water truths.

Water supply in Arizona is managed on a regional and local level. The Tucson Active Management Area (TAMA) is our regional water system and includes the Avra Valley Aquifer and the Upper Santa Cruz Aquifer. Tucson Water, Marana Water and others manage their local water systems within TAMA.

At the regional level, TAMA’s goal is to achieve regional safe-yield, i.e., water out (pumping) is balanced by water in (natural and artificial recharge/replenishment). Any imbalance is overdraft.

From 1985 through 2020, TAMA has a cumulative overdraft of 1.8 million acre-feet. This means that over this 35-year period, 1.8 million acre-feet more water has been pumped from the aquifer than replenished. This fact is rarely discussed.

In recent years, TAMA has achieved annual safe-yield by replenishing the aquifers with Colorado River Water via the Central Arizona Project (CAP). However, considering the perilous situation with the Colorado River system, the Arizona Department of Water Resources predicts that TAMA safe yield as it stands “may be unlikely” with further Colorado River shortages.

Regional groundwater quality is also a big concern, as portions of the aquifer are contaminated with PFAS compounds and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recently lowered the health advisory level to essentially zero for these chemicals in drinking water.

Although the regional water supply situation has improved in recent years, the future is not rosy with Colorado River water shortages, groundwater contamination issues and there is still the 1.8 million acre-feet deficit from past over pumping.

At the local level, Marana residents get water service from Marana Water or Tucson Water.

The incumbents tout that groundwater levels in Marana Water wells have risen and therefore all is good. But that is misleading because these wells are located adjacent to the replenishment facilities that are percolating Colorado River water into the aquifer! There are other wells farther away from these sites where water levels have dropped. They are not telling the whole story.

Furthermore, groundwater level has nothing to do with how much groundwater can be withdrawn. Marana Water will soon reach the point where its current approved 100-year water supply annual CAP allocation and recycled wastewater will be used up to meet rising water demand and then groundwater must be used. However, Marana only has a one-time groundwater allowance of about 3,000 acre-feet (one year of water). When that’s gone, any groundwater removed must be replenished with Central Arizona Groundwater Replenishment District water which is costly, shorter-term (not 100 years) and can be subject to the same cut backs as CAP water. The incumbents simply state there is plenty of groundwater and leave out the important details.

According to public records request data provided to me by Marana, the Marana Planning Commission and Town Council have approved 28,850 building lots as of the end of 2021. Marana has enough existing approved 100-year supply to provide water to 11,620 of those lots. Therefore, there are 17,230 lots of which there is not an approved 100-year water supply. The majority of the approved lots were the result of rezoning, whereby housing density was increased by a factor as high as 18. Rezoning and approving subdivisions prior to obtaining an approved 100-year water supply is not a sustainable action. It is reckless.

When I am elected to the Marana Town Council, I will work toward: 1) eliminating the TAMA cumulative overdraft, 2) monitoring aquifer groundwater quality and ensuring compliance with drinking water standards, 3) establishing a bona fide 100-year water supply before any rezoning and subdivision approvals, 4) ensuring Marana’s 100-year water supply takes into account that CAP water is not 100% reliable and 5) any groundwater replenishment water must be from a 100-year water supply source.

Mark Johnson is a retired water utility manager who worked in top management positions for three of the nation’s largest water utilities. He has been a community volunteer his entire life. He is a candidate for Marana Town Council.

TUCSON, Ariz. (KOLD News 13) - The Marana Pumpkin Patch opens for the first time this season on Saturday, Oct. 1.

Owner Jon Post said this year there’s even more for the whole family to enjoy, including a one-of-a-kind Sunflower Festival.

“We’re not going to the pumpkin field, we’re going to the sunflower field. Pumpkins will still be available to buy, but we are going to focus on the sunflowers,” Post said. “You can come and take photos in the beautiful sunflower field and it should be really great.”

Post said guests will be able to pick the sunflowers and make a bouquet to take home.

He said the community has been asking for a Sunflower Festival for years, and the new location helped make that possible.

“About 70% of the field will be open and it will look so amazing,” Post said. “Besides having a lot of fun at a pumpkin patch, it’s a photo opp. People want the opportunity in that sunflower field for photo opps.”

The pumpkin patch has added numerous photo backdrops so families have lots of places to take pictures.

Staff spent the summer finishing the bridge and other projects like the kitchen that had to be put on hold last year.

Guests will also notice a new pond filled with paddle boats. Post said the pond doubles as a holding place for the water used for the new irrigation system.

“We use underground drip irrigation to irrigate the farm. It helps conserve water and it’s great for pumpkins, pumpkins do very well with underground drip,” Post said. “In order to have that system we had to put in a holding pond for our water which is great because it doubles as a great amenity for our guests.”

Your only chance to check out these sunflowers is Oct. 1-2 and Oct. 6-7.

In order to avoid overflow, tickets will only be sold online this year. Post said it’s important to arrive at your designated ticket time, so there is enough staff here to help you.

For more information on how to purchase tickets click here.

Copyright 2022 KOLD News 13. All rights reserved.

Marana Town Council member John Officer is a true Arizonan.

“I don’t need those trails,” Officer said. “Because I’ll just walk out in the desert.”

Although Officer is an Arizona native without the need for formal walking trails, he worked on the Marana Parks and Recreation commission creating durable trails for Marana residents. He’s an avid outdoorsman, going as far as to hike the Arizona Trail from Mexico to Utah.

Officer assisted with creating new trails for the Arizona Trail. He followed old cattle and deer trails, clearing them for hikers.

“It gives people a connection to what is created here on this earth that we can all enjoy,” Officer said.

After serving on the Parks and Recreation Commission, Officer ran for Marana Town Council. His campaign was successful, and Officer served in the council for five years, he plans on winning again.

The primary election is Aug. 2, followed by the primary on Nov. 8.

Officer’s first term began with the issue of water at the forefront. He utilized 32 years of experience working for the Central Arizona Project (CAP) to guide his decisions on council.

“I was living on Harquahala Valley in high school and there’s this canal and this big dirt hill out in the middle of the desert that I went out and rode my motorcycle down,” Officer said. “I had no idea that 10 years later I would be working for them.”

In August 2018, the Mayor and Town Council approved the construction of two water treatment facilities in areas where contaminants known as PFAs were detected. This decision was a response to Tucson Water’s findings of 1,4-Dioxane and PFAs above the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) health recommendations. Both contaminants are industrial chemicals that are considered harmful to human health through repeated exposure over time.

“We put in two filtration systems at two of our newer sites, so we’ve got the purest water in Southern Arizona coming out of those,” Officer said.

Due to pandemic-dictated delays, the treatment facilities were finished in March 2021 rather than their projected opening of 2020.

Officer said water conservation is a necessity for Marana’s growth and commends the city of Tucson’s techniques for conserving water. He said Tucson’s population has grown rapidly but its water usage hasn’t changed drastically since the 1990s.

In the 1980s, Tucson Water implemented its reclaimed water program. This program recycled used water for Tucson water customers and revitalized plant life in many Tucson areas. In 2019, Tucson Water implemented the Santa Cruz River Heritage Project. A project that is aimed at recovering the Santa Cruz River water resources by adding up to 2.8 million gallons of treated recycled water to the Santa Cruz River daily.

“My deal is what are you doing to conserve water in Arizona?” Officer said. “I’m not going to mandate you, or wish that the town mandates you, I’m going to do like the city of Tucson has done ever since they started running the water.”

Officer said Marana is going to grow and water is on the minds of new home builders due to drought. He said this is the reason builders have made homes closer together with less yard space.

“They shrunk the outside area down and made sure they offered a home in a community that has a pool area where everybody can go,” Officer said.

He said shrinking yard space was an effort to limit the usage of water resources for backyard pools.

Ahead of this next election, Officer said that Marana will continue to grow with water conservation in mind and the council will continue to work with new developers.

“I’ve never seen a community quit growing and survive, they gotta grow,” Officer said.

TUCSON, Ariz. – Heavy monsoon rains are hitting the Southwest for the second day in a row, triggering concerns about flooding.

On Friday, a school bus got stuck in floodwaters near Marana, Arizona, and the students on board had to be rescued. Luckily, everyone was OK.

This comes after impressive rain totals over the past 24 hours in the Tucson area.

In Pima County, Anvil Ranch saw a little over 3 inches of rain, according to the National Weather Service. Huachuca City in Cochise County saw 2.77 inches of rain.

We're still in the middle of monsoon season, and the Southwest is getting soaked. Flood Watches are in effect across Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado and Texas. Portions of Arizona have already gotten some rain, and there is more on the way through the weekend. Tucson Fire Department Fire Chief Chuck Ryan joins FOX Weather with the latest efforts.

There was also significant monsoonal activity to the northwest in the Valley of the Sun. In the Phoenix area, power lines were knocked out in Peoria and thousands were left without electricity.

This year’s monsoon has packed quite the punch. For those unfamiliar, this weather event kicks up in the Southwest every summer and usually lasts from mid-June until the end of September.

It’s marked by powerful storms that roll in on moist winds from northern Mexico.

This year , the Southwest has seen fierce rains, flash flooding, lots of lightning and massive dust storms that rolled across the desert.

Some areas in northern Arizona where there have been wildfires earlier in the summer have seen destructive debris flows because there isn’t any more vegetation to hold the soil in place.

Though in other areas, the heavy rain has been welcome.

Arizona, like much of the West, is in the midst of a drought, and the rain has helped with those dry conditions.

More rain and thunderstorms are expected throughout Saturday. Flood Watches have been issued by the National Weather Service through Sunday for more than 8 million people because of the threat of additional heavy rains.

(FOX Weather)

On Saturday, the most significant risk of flooding will most likely be focused on southern Arizona, New Mexico and extreme west Texas. This includes Tucson, Arizona; Las Cruces, New Mexico; and El Paso, Texas.

Rainfall totals of 1 and 2 inches are expected from southern Arizona into southern New Mexico through late Saturday, with localized communities picking up 5 inches.

Forecast models show a significant decrease in precipitation to start the workweek, which will help communities recently inundated with rain.

Pima County’s cotton crop is not likely to be deeply affected by the Southwest’s mega-drought and Colorado River water cutbacks this year thanks to wells and recharging of aquifers, growers and agriculture experts say.

Hundreds of acres of Pima cotton will be cultivated and irrigated in the Marana area this summer, but where does that leave future cotton crops? Their survival depends on water availability, cotton futures, the higher costs of farming and urbanization.

“Marana is pretty good so far,” said Vice Mayor Jon Post, a Marana-area cotton grower. “We’re going to be insulated from most of the (Colorado River) cutbacks. I’ve got several thousand acres planted. No one’s cutting back yet,” Post said.

Marana gets some water from the Central Arizona Project but not to the extent growers were receiving in Pinal County. Farmers there suffered devasting effects after water was cut this summer by nearly 20 percent, or 512,000 acre feet (one acre-foot of water supplies about 2,000 homes annually).

Those cuts also affected dairy, alfalfa and other farmers as well as businesses related to agriculture in Pinal County.

Last August the Bureau of Reclamation declared a water shortage at Lake Mead. Lake Mead is one of the Colorado River’s main reservoirs and water levels have fallen to historic lows. More than one-third of the state’s water flows through the Colorado River to Lake Mead.

In Pima County, where some 45% of land area is in farms, the farming situation is different.

“Marana has amazing groundwater,” Post said. “The (farming) district is more than 100 years old. Our groundwater is outstanding. Everybody’s recharging groundwater and doing a lot of water-saving projects.”

Those include land leveling to make sure water is evenly spread in fields and adding drip irrigation.

“Marana has worked hard,” Post said. “The Cortaro-Marana Irrigation District has worked hard with a lot of entities in the region to prepare for this and that. Marana is a very unique place in the state.”

The Cortaro Water Users’ Association (CWUA) is the agent for the Cortaro-Marana Irrigation District. It was organized in 1964, but it goes back to 1918 when it was known as Cortaro Farms. In 1946 it was sold to individuals and the CWUA was incorporated.

The district is a state agency. It has 42 operating wells and three pumps to transfer water from the CAP canal to irrigation canals. The wells deliver more than 30,000 acre-feet of water every irrigation season, the organization’s website says.

The district also has an allotment of treated water pumped into the rivers by the sewage treatment plant on Ina Road. This water is used to recharge ground water.

Agriculture technology also helped Marana cotton farmers be more efficient, Post said. Field monitors and soil monitors have changed the way farmers apply water and fertilizer.

Pima cotton, the type grown by Marana growers, was developed at the University of Arizona by the late Walker Bryan, a university plant breeder. Released in 1953, the variety has longer and stronger fibers than upland cotton and is in high demand. Arizona produces about half the Pima cotton in the U.S.

“Marana is a very productive area with a moderate growing season,” said Jeffrey C. Silvertooth. Silvertooth, a professor at the University of Arizona, has a Ph.D. in soil science.

As long as the Marana area has good soil and water cotton growers will survive, he said. “It’s (Pima cotton) a stable crop and there’s a good market for it right now,” Silvertooth said. “The market is extremely strong around the world. It’s (Marana) a small niche, but it’s extremely productive. They have good farmers out there.”

Before the Great Recession, Silvertooth said a lot of Marana agriculture land was purchased by developers. Yet when the housing market crunch came they leased land back to farmers for agriculture.

This year Arizona cotton farmers planted 20,000 acres of Pima cotton compared to just 9,000 acres last year. Upland cotton farmers drastically reduced planting this year with just 82,000 acres compared to 120,000 acres in 2021. Upland cotton is a different species from Pima cotton.

The state’s total cotton crop in the 2020-2021 market totaled 1,396,684 bales, and growers were paid 73 cents a pound. The number of bales dropped compared to the 2019-2020 market when 1,614,995 bales were harvested.

Cotton is sold on the futures market, and it has changed dramatically in the last four to five years, Post said.

Inflation is a large factor in farming costs today, he said. “Our major input revolves around oil, a lot of diesel, fertilizers, chemicals and other petroleum-based products.”

The costs of those items have increased faster than consumer products, Post said. “Tractors are up 30 percent, if you can find one.”

Despite the challenges Pima County cotton growers face, Post remains optimistic.

“Marana’s always going to have some kind of agriculture,” he said. “It will be interesting to see where development grows. I don’t think I’d worry about Marana losing its agriculture heritage.”