With a pending cut in water to the Valley in the coming months, this is a good year for a city to update its drought preparedness plan and Surprise officials realized the city’s document needed more than a minor change.
The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation declared a Tier I shortage for the Colorado River on Aug. 16, which will become effective Jan. 1. As part of the this shortage, the amount of water that can be used from the Colorado River will be reduced.
Michael Boule, Surprise’s assistant director of Water Resource Management, presented an update to the drought preparedness plan during the Sept. 7 City Council meeting. He said city has made minor updates to plan since 2008 but current conditions dictated a more thorough revision.
