Tucson cuts off water for Project Blue, demands payback

Tucson City Manager Timothy Thomure sent a letter to the project's developers Monday, stating that the city revoked a construction water meter obtained by contractor Ames Construction, which was using city water for "dust control purposes at the Project Blue site" on South Houghton Road near the Pima County Fairgrounds. 

The letter claims the contractor obtained the water meter within the Tucson Water service area and transported it out for use at the site.

"This was completely unacceptable and was terminated by Tucson Water immediately," the letter says. "To be absolutely clear — the City of Tucson does not support the development of Project Blue. The City of Tucson will not provide any city resource, including our water supply, to be used for Project Blue."

Project Blue developer Beale Infrastructure, however, said the city issued "a permit for temporary water per the normal course of business."

"Our contractor followed standard procedure and will be billed accordingly," Beale said in an emailed statement late Tuesday to the Star. "We are procuring construction water through an alternative source of non drinking water. We direct any questions on the permit issuance to Tucson Water."

City spokesman Andy Squire countered, "It is not a permit. It is an application for the installation of a construction meter ... placed on Tucson Water hydrants located within the Tucson Water service area, which is where the water is intended to be used/served. The manager is not saying that the application process to obtain the meter was not followed. The unauthorized use was taking the water for use outside our service delivery area for use on the Project Blue site."

"The contractor did not make that action clear in the application but the parent/primary company is very aware that the City rejected any use of our water resources for the development or operation of this data center facility," Squire wrote in an email to the Star. 

The Tucson City Council unanimously voted to reject annexing the site for the Amazon-linked Project Blue data centers complex last August due to concerns, including water and electricity usage. Amazon pulled out of the project late last year, but Beale Infrastructure is still continuing the project and seeking other partners after buying the land from Pima County. 

The water used at the construction site was potable water, Squire said. 

In his letter Monday, Thomure asked for restitution, demanding the developers replace the 2 acre-feet of water used at the site. The city had not heard back from Beale as of Tuesday night, Squire said. 

Squire said city officials learned of the situation when a citizen asked a Ward 4 staffer if the dust control water for Project Blue was coming from the city or another source, which triggered a city investigation. 

"Not all heroes wear capes," City Councilmember Kevin Dahl, a vocal critic of Project Blue, posted on Facebook along with the city manager's letter. 

The No Desert Data Center Coalition also cheered the city's action.

"We are delighted to see that the overwhelming community opposition to Project Blue has gotten even the city manager, who last summer was Beale's champion, to revoke their water permit in such a strongly worded letter," said coalition member Vivek Bharathan. "If they are in violation of dust control regulations, we expect the county and state to enforce those."