CHANDLER, Ariz. — The city of Chandler has approved a deal to spend $45 million on a new water facility that should help the community adapt to Arizona's worsening drought conditions.
The facility will supply reclaimed water for Chandler's groundwater recharge efforts as well as supply additional water for industrial cooling at Intel's expanded facilities.
Intel, one of the city's biggest employers, has agreed to pay about half of the facility's cost, public records show.
Reclaimed water is wastewater that's been treated to be reused in irrigation, lakes, industrial uses, or aquifer recharge. Chandler's existing reclamation facilities treat about 11 billion gallons of wastewater each year.
The city says reclaiming wastewater helps Chandler reduce the city's demand for surface water, which ultimately helps to save the city's supply of drinking water.
About 37% of the city's drinking water supply comes from the Colorado River, which has been plagued by ongoing drought problems and shrinking water levels.
Chandler expects its supply of Colorado River water allotments to possibly be outpaced by its demand by 2025, public records show.
"The City of Chandler recognizes the seriousness of conditions on the Colorado River and will continue to plan for a future with less water," the city wrote in a statement last month.
If the city's Colorado River supplies are affected by Arizona's drought conditions in the future, the city says it will have to rely on alternative supplies in its water supply portfolio.
Construction on the new water facility is expected to begin immediately and should be completed by 2024.
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