The Mount Lemmon Water Improvement District has moved into Stage 3 water restrictions as water supplies continue to run low, asking residents to cut down on non-essential water use.
Stage 3 restrictions are triggered when the water supply stays below half of its normal capacity for 24 straight hours, leading district officials to believe they will not be able to meet demand over the next seven days.
Under the mandatory restrictions, each household must use no more than 2,400 gallons of water per month.
Diana and John Osbourne are owners of the Mount Lemmon Lodge. John says the limits are strict and enforced.
"That's about 80 gallons a day, but you use one drop over that and the water department's going to come and shut off your meter. That means no water for whatever the remaining part of the month is. That's pretty important," he said.
The restrictions ban car washing and outdoor watering and require residents to take quick showers.
Osbourne says water—not wildfire —is the mountain community's biggest challenge.
"Well, you'd think that the number one problem up here is fire, 'cause in the last 20 years, 23 years, we've burned twice. That's not the case. Our worst problem is water."
The district's water comes entirely from natural springs, which are currently producing well below their minimum threshold.
"Our tanks are only so much and our springs, where all the water comes from, only produce so much. Right now, we're well below 10 gallons a minute, which is our official limit," said Osborne.
Osborne says the Lodge has already adapted its operations to reduce water consumption, switching to paper plates to eliminate dishwashing and sending laundry down the mountain to Tucson.
"There's lots and lots of things that we've done and we can still do, including developing a curtailment policy for the businesses, which is now in process with the water department," Osborne said.
Osborne tells me this is not the first time the community has faced these conditions.
"We did this last summer. It's a shame we're doing it this summer, but we have to deal with it now," he said.
If conservation efforts fall short, the district could move into Stage 4 restrictions.
"And it'll shut us down, everybody down, both the residents and the businesses, if we have to go to stage 4," said Osborne.
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Jacqueline Aguilar is a multimedia journalist at KGUN 9. Born and raised in Yuma, AZ., she is no stranger to the unforgiving Arizona heat. Now this U of A wildcat is excited to be back in Tucson and is looking forward to involving herself in the community. Share your story ideas with Jacqueline by emailing jacqueline.aguilar@kgun9.com or connecting on Facebook, Instagram or X.
