Peoria, AZ service area

The City of Peoria Water Services Department combines four sources. In 2025 it delivered 34,341 acre-feet: Central Arizona Project water, which is Colorado River water carried by the CAP canal, made up 58.9 percent; Salt River Project water from the Salt and Verde watershed, delivered to southern Peoria by the Arizona Canal, 29.5 percent; well pumping 7.8 percent; and direct-use reclaimed water 3.8 percent. Surface water is treated at the Greenway and Pyramid Peak water treatment plants, and groundwater wells also serve the city. Peoria can order up to 34,121 acre-feet of CAP water a year, including 7,000 acre-feet leased from the Gila River Indian Community for 100 years, and had built up about 243,000 acre-feet of underground storage credits by the end of 2024. Not every address is on this system. The city's 2025 water quality report says several private water companies, Sunrise, Rose Valley and EPCOR, serve certain areas of Peoria, and the City Code defines the city's water service area as the incorporated areas not served by a private company. The name on the water bill decides which rebates, backflow rules and leak lines apply.

Peoria's Water FAQ says water pressure in most areas the city serves is typically between 50 and 80 pounds per square inch, and that during peak demand it may fall to about 40, which the city calls still sufficient for most uses. Peak demand generally comes on weekdays from 7 to 9 a.m., as households get ready for work, and from 6 to 11 p.m. To flatten those spikes and cut evaporation, the city asks residents to schedule landscape irrigation between 11 p.m. and 7 a.m. Its water-saving actions page adds the daytime limit: avoid running irrigation between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m., when heat and wind carry water away before it reaches the soil. For an irrigation system those two pieces of advice point to the same overnight window. They also explain a common false alarm. A spray zone scheduled to start at 7 a.m. can run during the morning dip, rise only partway and leave dry edges, then work perfectly when it is tested at night. A weak zone in Peoria should be checked at another hour before heads or valves are replaced. These are city recommendations, not a mandatory watering schedule.

Peoria's conservation page quotes City Code Section 13-36(d): it is unlawful to waste water used for irrigation or to permit it to run upon the public streets or alleys of the city or upon the property of another. Residents can report irrigation misuse through the MyPeoriaAZ mobile app or through the city's CitizenServe portal, under Code Compliance. The same page explains the usual causes and the fixes. Over-watering is the first: dry desert soil cannot absorb a lot of water quickly, so the city recommends cycle and soak, for example three 10-minute cycles with 30 minutes between them instead of one 30-minute run. Overspray is the second: sprinkler heads turn out of line easily, so run the system briefly, find the heads spraying paving or walls and turn them back, and pick nozzles whose throw suits the area. Leaks are the third, from slow trickles to broken heads and stuck valves. Design is the last. The city notes that small, curved and sloped grass areas are hard to water efficiently, and points to its xeriscape rebate as one answer for city water customers.

Peoria's rebates are for City of Peoria water utility customers only; sewer-only, private water and combined meter community water customers are not eligible. Purchases must be made and installed within a year of applying, rebates are limited each fiscal year and given first come, first served, taxes and installation costs do not count, and the city can change or suspend programs at any time. Two residential rebates touch irrigation. The standalone smart irrigation controller rebate covers an EPA-listed WaterSense standalone controller run online in smart mode, one per household every seven years, proven with an itemized receipt rather than a contractor's invoice, with installation verified by a city meter technician. The grass conversion to xeriscape rebate requires plants from the AMWUA or ADWR Phoenix AMA low water use lists, at least a two-inch mulch layer and minimum plant canopy at maturity, and starts with a pre-consultation with city staff. Check the city's page for current amounts. Beyond rebates, the city offers free Sustainable U classes, onsite landscape consultations, a free water conservation kit for Peoria water customers (one per household, while supplies last), and the Fusion Xeriscape Demonstration Garden in front of City Hall at 8401 W. Monroe St.

Peoria runs a Backflow Prevention and Cross Connection Control Program under the Arizona Administrative Code, with the rules in Chapter 18 of the City Code. Required devices are tested at least annually, at the owner's expense. The city sends test notices 60 days before an assembly is due, reports must reach the Environmental Division within 30 days of the test, and failing to test is subject to water service termination. New assemblies must be installed to the City of Peoria Backflow Details, inspected, and pass a test by a City of Peoria Recognized Tester, from a list updated at the start of each month. The city says the program applies to and is primarily enforced on commercial businesses; when a device is installed on a home, it recommends annual testing by a certified tester. City Code Section 18-117 names commercial pressure vacuum breakers, double checks and reduced pressure assemblies for annual testing. The city's FAQ names the pressure vacuum breaker as a device that can be installed on the supply line to a landscape irrigation system, and its conservation page says a stuck irrigation valve is stopped by turning off the outdoor water at the backflow device. Correspondence goes to backflow@peoriaaz.gov.

Peoria declared Stage 1, Water Watch, of its Drought Management Plan on June 29, 2022, in recognition of regional and statewide discussions about the Colorado River shortage. The stage asks residents to voluntarily reduce water use by 5 percent, and the city states that at this time there are no mandatory water restrictions; the plan, adopted by city ordinance, defines four stages, so check the city's page for the current one. Peoria also sits within the Phoenix Active Management Area, where state groundwater rules aim for safe-yield. Seasons shape the schedule. The National Weather Service Phoenix office counts the monsoon from June 15 through September 30, with downburst winds, dust storms and flash flooding among its hazards, which is when heads get knocked out of line and drip tubing gets pulled loose. Peoria's guidance is to adjust irrigation schedules monthly, to plant in spring and fall when watering needs are lower, and to water when the top two to three inches of soil are dry. For winter lawns, the city says skipping ryegrass overseeding saves 8,000 gallons for every 1,000 square feet of grass. Free monthly watering reminders are available by texting WHENTOWATER to 1-844-416-1428.

Peoria covers more than 170 square miles in Maricopa and Yavapai counties. The city's Old Town plan describes flat desert in the south rising to foothills and mountains around Lake Pleasant in the north, including Sunrise Mountain, West Wing Mountain, East Wing Mountain and the Hieroglyphic Mountains, with the New River and Agua Fria River corridors running through. A city-filed plan for land near Lake Pleasant Parkway and Dixileta Drive records ground between about 1,300 and 1,365 feet, ridges with elevation differences of 50 feet or more and washes left natural. That spread matters for irrigation. Water applied at the top of a slope ends up at the bottom, and University of Arizona Extension notes that cold air settles into the lowest ground on calm, clear nights. Extension puts the average first frost in Maricopa County between November 21 and December 12 and the last frost between February 7 and April 3, depending on location, and advises keeping plants evenly watered going into a freeze. Newer yards follow newer rules too. In November 2022 Peoria updated its Landscape Code and Community Design Guidelines to cut the turf allowed in new development and redevelopment and to keep grass to usable spaces such as play areas.