Queen Creek water customers are about to see a new line on their bill. On Sept. 16, Town Council started the formal process to create a water resource fee, and the first year of that fee goes to a public hearing and vote on Nov. 18. The details are laid out in the Queen Creek Tribune’s report on the upcoming rate hearing, and one number in it should get every homeowner’s attention: 67% of the town’s water is used outside the home. For Queen Creek homeowners, that is exactly where smart irrigation does its work.
That makes the yard the biggest place most households can cut back. Our Queen Creek landscaping team has been building East Valley yards since 2000, and irrigation is where we see the most waste and the easiest savings. Here is what the new fee means, and how smart irrigation and low-water design keep a desert yard healthy on less water.
What Queen Creek’s new water resource fee pays for
The fee funds a $730 million plan to supply the town with 3.7 million acre-feet of water over the next century. The anchor is 1.7 million acre-feet the town bought from the Harquahala Basin, about 100 miles northwest of Queen Creek. That water will travel through the Central Arizona Project canal once the infrastructure is built and a federal environmental review is complete. The fee also picks up Central Arizona Groundwater Replenishment District (CAGRD) costs that the town had been covering for seven years.
Town officials describe it as a charge for replenishing water rather than for the water itself, but it is still billed by the gallon. The staff recommendation presented Sept. 2 prices the fee at $3.07 per 1,000 gallons of metered use, with a 40% credit for homes on the town sewer system. At 10,000 gallons a month, that works out to about $30.70 in year one, or $18.42 with the credit. It phases in over six years, but council approves only one year at a time, so each year’s amount gets its own vote. Council members have also said they are still evaluating the structure and phasing, so final numbers may change before the hearing.
| Average single-family customer | Projected monthly fee, year 1 | Projected monthly fee, year 6 |
|---|---|---|
| On the town sewer system | $16 | $57 |
| Water only (septic or private sewer) | $40 | $138 |
The gap between those two rows comes from a wastewater credit. About half of the town’s water customers are on its sewer system and receive credit for the water the town recovers through it. Homes on septic or a private sewer system are not eligible, which is why their projected fee runs higher. Single-family homes make up 96% of the town’s water customers, so this reaches nearly every neighborhood.
Key dates on the water resource fee
- Oct. 13 and Oct. 20, 5:30 p.m.: community meetings in Community Chambers, 20727 E. Civic Parkway
- Oct. 13, 4 p.m.: meeting for HOA managers and boards, also in Community Chambers
- Nov. 18, 6:30 p.m.: public hearing and council vote on the first year’s fee
- Jan. 27, 2027: the fee takes effect
- March 9, 2027: customer bills begin to include the fee
The town is also holding weekly open house hours through Nov. 17 at the Municipal Services Building, 22358 E. Ellsworth Road, and it has a calculator at queencreekaz.gov/waterfuture that estimates what your household will likely pay. It is worth five minutes before the hearing.
Why your landscape is the biggest lever on your water bill
Where Queen Creek’s water goes
With two thirds of Queen Creek’s water going outdoors, the irrigation system is doing most of the drinking at a typical home. Nationally, the EPA’s WaterSense program estimates that as much as half of the water used for landscape irrigation is wasted through overwatering caused by inefficient methods and systems.
That matters because, as recommended, both the new resource fee and the regular water rate council will set on Nov. 18 are charged by the gallon. Every gallon your yard does not need comes off both.
HOA residents have a stake here too. HOAs account for 19% of the town’s replenishment obligation, and town projections show their combined bill climbing from $1.9 million in year one to about $15.2 million by year six if they make no changes to water-intensive landscaping. Those costs get passed on to members. Town officials have said one purpose of the six-year phase-in is to give big users like HOAs time to change how they water, including replacing some of their landscaping.
Where most East Valley irrigation systems waste water
Most systems installed with a new home were set up to water on a fixed schedule and then left alone. Here is where the water goes.
- Fixed schedules. Plenty of controllers run the same program in October that they ran in July. According to the Town of Queen Creek, a desert-adapted shrub needs water weekly in summer but only monthly in winter.
- One zone for everything. Trees, shrubs, and grass drink on completely different schedules. Put them on the same valve and something is always overwatered.
- Spray heads in planting beds. Spray loses water to evaporation and wind drift before it ever reaches the roots.
- Quiet leaks. A cracked lateral line, a stuck valve, or a head watering the driveway can run for months before anyone notices. Usually the bill notices first.
How Blossom & Oak builds low-water irrigation
The goal is easy to say and takes experience to get right: give each plant the water it needs, when it needs it, and nothing extra. It is the same approach behind every irrigation system installation and retrofit we do in Queen Creek and across the East Valley.
We zone the yard by how plants drink
Trees, shrubs, and any turf go on their own valves so each group runs on its own schedule. Trees get longer, less frequent watering that soaks deep into the soil, while shallow-rooted plantings get shorter cycles. Zoning is the decision that makes every other upgrade work. Without it, even the best controller is forced to overwater one group to keep another alive.
We put desert plantings on drip
Drip emitters deliver water slowly at the root zone instead of spraying it across the surface, which cuts evaporation and runoff. For beds of desert-adapted trees and shrubs, drip is almost always the right call. Converting spray heads in planting beds to drip is one of the most effective upgrades an older system can get. For more on pairing drip with a controller, see Irrigation 101: automating drip systems for efficiency.
We install and program smart controllers for the Sonoran Desert
A smart irrigation controller uses weather data or site conditions to decide when and how long to water, instead of running a fixed timer. We install and program the brands the Town of Queen Creek publishes smart controller programming guides for, including Rachio, B-hyve, and Rain Bird. We set them to change watering frequency with the seasons, which is the feature the town recommends for our climate.
The savings are real. According to the EPA’s WaterSense program, replacing a standard clock timer with a WaterSense labeled weather-based controller can save an average home nearly 7,600 gallons of water a year. The catch is that a smart controller is only as good as its setup. Plant type, soil, sun exposure, and emitter or nozzle output all have to be entered correctly, or the controller makes confident decisions based on bad information. That setup is where we spend our time.
We hunt down the leaks you cannot see
Part of every irrigation job is finding the quiet problems most homeowners never spot: a cracked lateral, a stuck valve, a broken emitter, a head aimed at the sidewalk. Fixing those is often the cheapest water savings in the whole yard.
We walk you through the settings
When the work is finished, we review how the system runs and how the controller is set, so you can make seasonal adjustments with confidence instead of guessing.
Rethinking thirsty grass without giving up your yard
Grass is usually the thirstiest part of an Arizona yard, but not every lawn has to go. A practical middle ground is keeping real grass only where it actually gets used, like a play area for kids or dogs, and finishing the rest with desert plantings on drip, decorative rock, or artificial grass. Where natural grass does make sense, putting new sod on its own zone keeps it from dragging the rest of the yard’s watering schedule along with it.
Before you start a bigger landscape change, check the Town of Queen Creek’s water conservation pages for any incentives currently available to residents.
What to do before the Nov. 18 hearing
- Run the town’s calculator at queencreekaz.gov/waterfuture to see your projected cost.
- Take your controller off its summer schedule. As temperatures drop this fall, a July program running in October is pure waste. Our guide to seasonal watering schedules for Arizona landscapes walks through the adjustments.
- Watch one full watering cycle. Walk each zone and look for geysers, puddles, dry spots, and spray hitting pavement.
- Ask your HOA board how it plans to handle common-area landscaping as the fee phases in.
- Bring your questions to a community meeting or open house if you want to be heard before the vote.
Smart irrigation and the Queen Creek water fee: common questions
Will a smart irrigation controller lower my Queen Creek water bill?
It can. Under the town staff’s recommendation, the new resource fee is charged per 1,000 gallons of metered use, and the regular water rate is usage-based too, so water a properly programmed controller saves comes off both. The EPA estimates nearly 7,600 gallons a year in savings for an average home that swaps a clock timer for a WaterSense labeled weather-based controller. Your actual savings depend on your landscape and how the old system was set up.
When will the water resource fee show up on my bill?
Under the timetable the town has shared, council holds the public hearing on Nov. 18, 2026, the fee takes effect Jan. 27, 2027, and bills start including it March 9, 2027. Council sets the amount one year at a time.
Why is the projected fee higher for homes on septic?
Homes on the town sewer system receive a credit for water the town gets back through its wastewater system. Homes on septic or private sewer systems are not eligible for that credit, so their projected fee is higher.
Does the fee apply in San Tan Valley?
The water resource fee applies to Town of Queen Creek water customers. Many San Tan Valley homes are served by other water providers, so check your bill to see who supplies your water. Either way, the same irrigation upgrades reduce outdoor water use and the charges that come with it.
Can my existing sprinkler system be converted to drip?
In most yards, yes. Planting beds on spray heads are some of the best candidates for conversion, and existing systems can often be upgraded rather than torn out. We look at the whole system first and tell you what is worth keeping.
Get your irrigation ready before the new fee arrives
Blossom & Oak has designed and built yards across Queen Creek and the East Valley since 2000, licensed, bonded, and insured under ROC #341642. If your system still runs on a basic timer, waters everything the same way, or has not been checked in a while, request a free consultation or call (602) 809-7604. We will walk the yard, find the waste, and show you where the savings are.
Updated September 24, 2026. Sources: Queen Creek Tribune, “Queen Creek Council to set water rates Nov. 18” (Sept. 21, 2026); Town of Queen Creek, “Queen Creek Continues Efforts Toward Water Self-Sufficiency” (Sept. 3, 2026); Town of Queen Creek, Smart Irrigation Controllers; U.S. EPA WaterSense, Weather-Based Irrigation Controllers. Fee amounts are town projections and will be finalized by Queen Creek Town Council.