(Photo via Twitter)

(Photo by Michael Mol - CC BY 2.0)

Water sprinkler.

About 90 percent of Goodyear is undeveloped, and officials are looking to build a long-term strategy to reduce water to save money in the future.

Goodyear’s population has exploded in the past 25 years. With the economy recovering, and work under way to finish projects like connecting the Loop 303, officials say the city will eventually reach about 710,000.

Goodyear gets Central Arizona Project water from the Colorado River, but city water conservation specialist Sandra Rode said right now the closest access is 40 miles away at Lake Pleasant. 

“The more efficient we can become now at our low population, the less water we will need for the future, the less pipeline we’ll have to build,” Rode said. “The cost will be significantly lower for us down the line.”

Starting this summer, Rode said a group of residents and development industry leaders will spend the next two years coming up with a long-term water conservation plan.

Goodyear is also one of several Valley cities participating in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Fix-A-Leak water conservation program. Rode said 60 - 70 percent of the city’s water is used outside, and officials want to see that number reduced.

“Water that we don’t use outside wastefully can be made available to businesses without us having to pay to extend infrastructure or put more water somewhere.”