And in recent years, the city-owned public utility appears to have achieved that goal. It has not imported water from outside sources for about seven years, and instead has relied on abundant groundwater, which officials say has been undiminished by the drought.
So when state officials ordered the city, along with water suppliers up and down the state, to cut back significantly on water use, officials balked.
"We are 100% independent in terms of our water supply," Mayor Rusty Bailey said. "We believe we should be treated differently than everybody else. It's not a one-size-fits-all situation."
