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ITEM #: 1.
DATE: 05/11/2026
AI #:2973

CITY COUNCIL ACTION REPORT

SUBJECT:

FISCAL YEAR (FY) 2026 STRATEGIC PLAN UPDATE: COMPREHENSIVE WATER STRATEGY

STAFF PRESENTER(S):

Barbara Chappell, Interim Deputy City Manager

SUMMARY

Council will receive an update on the FY2026 Strategic Plan project focused on Comprehensive Water Strategy, the intent of which was to develop a citywide strategy that addresses water resources planning, infrastructure planning, water use and conservation, development guidelines and processes, and financial resources for both the city's water service area as well as the city's own usage.

The comprehensive water strategy serves as a unified framework that organizes the city's historical, current and future water conservation and acquisition efforts into four strategic categories:

Infrastructure Planning
Water Use and Conservation
Development Guidelines
Processes and Water Resources Planning

This approach provides a transparent, comprehensive inventory of the city's water stewardship efforts across all departments and service areas.

STRATEGIC PLAN ALIGNMENT

RECOMMENDATION

Council to receive an update on the FY2026 Strategic Plan project on a comprehensive water strategy and provide guidance to staff. No action will be taken. (Barbara Chappell, Interim Deputy City Manager)

FISCAL IMPACT

The comprehensive water strategy does not create new financial obligations or initiatives.

BACKGROUND AND PREVIOUS ACTIONS

The development of this strategy was called for in the city's Strategic Plan as a FY2026 project, which was to develop a citywide strategy that addresses water resources planning, infrastructure planning, water use and conservation, development guidelines and processes, and financial resources for both the city's water service areas as well as the city's own usage.

To address this Strategic Plan project, staff conducted a comprehensive audit across multiple city departments including the City Manager's Office, Public Works, Water Services, Digital Communications, Fire, and Parks and Recreation as well as private water companies to inventory and categorize all water efficiency and acquisition efforts, both current and future. This collaborative process help to ensured the strategy reflects the full scope of the city's coordinated approach to water stewardship.

STAFF ANALYSIS

The comprehensive water strategy is organized into a summary document (Attachments A) and the detailed strategy (Attachment B). While Attachment B outlines the overall strategy, Attachment A provides an overview of the information contained in the strategy and guides its review and interpretation.

The strategy organizes the city's water efficiency efforts into four strategic topics, four status phases, and four scopes of applicability. The strategy also provides the organizational structure necessary to track progress, ensure accountability and communicate the city's proactive water stewardship to the public. These are explained below and together provide Council with complete transparency on the city's water stewardship initiatives.

1. Strategic Topics. The strategy categorizes efforts as one of the following:

a. Infrastructure Planning - Water infrastructure, maintenance, and construction.

b. Water Use and Conservation - Conservation efforts at city facilities and in the community.

c. Development Guidelines and Processes - Ways the city encourages water efficiency in new development.

d. Water Resources Planning - Securing and maintaining sustainable water resources.

2. Status. The strategy inventories efforts across four phases:

a. What We've Done - Implemented initiatives.

b. What We're Doing - Current and ongoing efforts.

c. What We Will Do - Near-term planned initiatives.

d. What We Can Do - Potential solutions pending Council guidance, direction, and funding.

3. Applicability. The strategy identifies the scope and applicability to the city's efforts:

a. Citywide - Implementation across the entire city.
b. City Service Area - Implementation across the city's water service area only.
c. Third Party Service Area Only - Implementation in areas served by private water providers.
d. Internally - Implementation focused on the operations of the city organization.

The strategy also includes information about how the efficacy of efforts are being tracked or could be tracked using key performance metrics. Finally, the strategy identifies the items recommended for action by the Goodyear Water Conservation Committee in 2018. All recommendations made by the Water Conservation Committee have been or are currently being implemented.

In the preparation of the comprehensive water strategy (Attachment B), staff identified a number of efforts, categorized as "Things We Can Do," which are focused on currently unplanned potential future efforts. These "Things We Can Do" projects could be pursued further and incorporated into the "Things We Will Do" projects. Based on Council guidance on these "Things We Can Do" projects, staff would evaluate each further and report back to Council with detailed timelines and cost estimates prior to formal incorporation into the city's comprehensive water strategy.