Raising Water Awareness
By AMWUA Staff
We use water every day, which is why it’s essential to realize that those daily choices affect our future. As we recognize Water Awareness Month, we are reminded that we must be conscious of every precious drop, especially in our arid climate.
Water conservation supports our way of life in the desert.
With growing pressures on our water, the importance of water conservation has never been more crucial than it is now. Being efficient with the water we have is up to all of us, and being smarter with how we use it will be essential. A collective commitment to using water responsibly must exist across the entire State – residential, municipal, commercial, industrial, and agricultural. Together we can safeguard our water supplies now and for future generations.
Our strong water conservation ethic has helped us avoid needing to impose water restrictions during this time of prolonged drought.
Most people aren’t aware that Arizona has mandated conservation in the State’s most populated areas for over 40 years. Water providers, industrial water users, and agriculture must meter all connections, report their water use annually, and achieve increasingly rigorous conservation requirements.
To meet those requirements, and just as importantly, to fulfill their own long-term water management goals, the AMWUA cities collectively implement more than 300 best management practices. For more than 35 years, the AMWUA cities and partners have worked together to build shared conservation resources and programs. Each city has dedicated conservation staff and rebates tailored to provide valuable information, tools, and assistance to ensure residents and businesses have the tools and knowledge to be efficient with water use – indoors and out.
Conservation and efficiency are embedded in our cities’ long-term management strategies.
Wise water use is a vital part of our long-term planning in the desert, and being efficient with water has been part of our long-term water management. That is why the AMWUA cities have invested and continue to invest in infrastructure, multiple sources of water supplies, underground water storage, and conservation. Their efforts are ongoing as they continually plan and invest to ensure safe, reliable, and sustainable water supplies for today and the future. The well-being of our local communities and economy depends on it.
We live in the desert, so water is precious, and conservation matters.
We can all make a difference by being more water aware and by making small changes, starting today. So Water Awareness Month is the perfect time to recommit to being water efficient and embracing conservation, which will allow us to continue to prosper and enjoy our vibrant way of life in the desert. When we all do our part, Arizona will remain sustainable for generations to come.
The Arizona Department of Water Resources (ADWR) and water conservation partners from around the State, like the AMWUA cities, celebrate Water Awareness Month (WAM) every April. The WAM website is “overflowing” with ideas and activities to help you learn more about water conservation and become more aware of our State’s most precious resource, water.
For over 50 years, Arizona Municipal Water Users Association has worked to protect our member cities’ ability to provide assured, safe, and sustainable water supplies to their communities. For more water information, visit www.amwua.org.
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