Arizona Daily Star asked their readers if they would pay more for their water if the water hardness content was lower. How much lower? Down to a staggeringly high 450ppm water hardness. To put this in perspective, anything over 150ppm is hard water and you will need protection. Anyone living in an area which has 250ppm will tell you that they live in one of the hardest water areas in the uk.
The cost would $11-$12 a month.
The Star asked some local neighborhood leaders whether they would be willing to pay.
“Oh, no, no! I pay $57 every month for my water, sewer and garbage rates already.”
Betty Compton, president, Corbett Neighborhood Association, southeast side
“If the city is proposing a rate increase to better treat the water so it’s better quality water, that’s to me a fair goal. I think I would be willing to pay it. But it may be now that for many other households, the way the economy is right now, it may be a burden they don’t want to assume.”
John O’Dowd, president, Sam Hughes Neighborhood Association, midtown
“My water bill used to be $25 a month but it is now regularly $100 a month, including sewer and garbage. It’s absurd to me that it’s jumped up that much. But it sounds like we would need it – another rate increase to pay for mineral removal. Otherwise, everyone would have to get their own filtration plants.
“When I go to Phoenix, their water is horrible. I hate to think that ours could get that bad.”
Judy Lucz, president, La Madera Neighborhood Association, north side
“I think it’s worth it. It seems excessive right now, the coating and the water deposits that build up in the pipes, to try to clean that stuff out. When I came to Tucson 47 years ago, we had an artesian well on our land out by where Aqua Caliente Park is on the northeast side. The water had a lot better flavor.”
Jim Beard, president, Naylor Neighborhood Association, midtown, and owner of an air conditioning company
“I think they should do the water treatment plant. We need to keep up with things as technology changes. Things fall apart, and why should we replace them and replace them and replace them when therre is a longer-term solution? In our neighborhood, the hard water wreaks havoc on coolers. At our house, we’ve been going through a pump a year for the last three years.”
Vickie Mesimer, president of the Myers Neighborhood Association, near Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, who said she was only speaking for herself.