Preprints
https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2022-1367
https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2022-1367
20 Dec 2022
 | 20 Dec 2022

Water Productivity of Phoenix Metropolitan Area Cities

Benjamin Ruddell, Richard Rushforth, and Diane Hope

Abstract. Water productivity (or efficiency) data informs water policy, zoning and planning along with water allocation decisions under water scarcity pressure. This paper demonstrates that different water productivity metrics lead to different conclusions about who is using water more effectively. In addition to supporting the population's drinking and sanitation needs, water generates many other public and private social, environmental, and economic values. For the group of municipalities comprising the Phoenix Metropolitan Area we compare several water productivity metrics by calculating the Water Value Intensity (WVI) of potable water delivered by the municipality to its residential and non-residential customers. Core cities with more industrial water uses are less productive by the conventional efficiency measure of water used per capita, but core cities generate more tax revenues, business revenues, and payroll revenues per unit of water delivered, achieving a higher water productivity by these measures. We argue that policymakers should consider a more diverse set of socio-economic water productivity measures to ensure that a broader set of values are represented in water allocation policies.

Publisher's note: Copernicus Publications remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims made in the text, published maps, institutional affiliations, or any other geographical representation in this preprint. The responsibility to include appropriate place names lies with the authors.
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Journal article(s) based on this preprint

01 Mar 2024
Water productivity is in the eye of the beholder: benchmarking the multiple values produced by water use in the Phoenix metropolitan area
Benjamin L. Ruddell and Richard Rushforth
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 28, 1089–1106, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-1089-2024,https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-1089-2024, 2024
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The requested preprint has a corresponding peer-reviewed final revised paper. You are encouraged to refer to the final revised version.

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This study finds that bedroom cities show higher water productivity based on the standard...
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