Conservation In Action: How The AMWUA Cities Are Saving Water

As a new year begins, the challenges confronting the water sector—ranging from drought to looming shortages—are undeniable. Still, amid these growing concerns, we can find confidence in the efforts of our municipal water providers, particularly the ten AMWUA cities, which serve 3.7 million residents—more than half of Arizona's population—and utilize only 11 percent of the state's water. This remarkable achievement is no accident; it reflects decades of deliberate, strategic planning and significant infrastructure investments aimed at securing Arizona’s water future.

Our municipalities are stepping up their efforts to protect water resources, modernize essential infrastructure, and adapt to climate change and rapid population growth. Their current initiatives are founded on three key strategic pillars: Efficiency, Resilience, and Technology.

Below is a sample of projects that exemplify these priorities and demonstrate how the AMWUA cities are proactively laying the groundwork for a secure water future.

Advanced Conservation & Efficiency Programs
The AMWUA cities are actively managing demand through technology and targeted incentive programs, making water efficiency the "cheapest new source of water."

• Data-Driven Savings: Implementing Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI), which provides customers with detailed usage data, enables them to easily identify and reduce water waste.
• Leak Detection & Control: Employing leak detection programs and technology-driven irrigation timers, which significantly reduce physical water losses and customer water bills.
• Rebates & Turf/Landscape Conversions: Offering rebates for grass removal and landscape conversions for homeowners, HOAs, and businesses, reducing peak summer demand by replacing high-water-use areas with drought-tolerant alternatives.
• Municipal Water Audits: Conducting internal water audits across municipal facilities, parks, and operations to identify inefficiencies, fix leaks, and upgrade irrigation. 

Policy, Code, & Sustainable Development
The AMWUA cities support long-term water demand goals by adopting municipal ordinances and policies that promote responsible growth.

• Landscape Design Policies: Enforcing codes that require native and low-water-use plants, efficient irrigation systems, the elimination of non-functional turf, and limitations on grass square footage in new developments (HOAs and multi-family).
• Commercial and Industrial Restrictions: Banning high-water-use plants or lawns on commercial and industrial developments to ensure water-wise business practices.
• Growth Management: Implementing conservation codes to limit water-intensive landscaping and large water-user ordinances/water-allocation policies that require large new developments to provide their own water if they exceed established thresholds, protecting existing users.
• Water Efficiency Standards: Establishing and enforcing water efficiency standards and construction codes for plumbing fixtures and building practices.

Water Reuse & Resilient Supply
AMWUA cities are expanding their efforts to develop climate-independent water supplies to ensure the resilience, capacity, and safety of their water systems now and in the future.

• Expanding Reuse: Investing in advanced purified water treatment technology to create a highly efficient, drought-resistant local water source - the next logical step in sustainable water management.
• Maximizing Reuse: Utilizing reclaimed water for landscaping, agricultural watering, aquifer recharge, and industrial cooling (e.g., Palo Verde Nuclear Plant). 

Ultimately, the success of the AMWUA cities demonstrates that water security is not a matter of chance but a result of deliberate action. As we face reductions to our Colorado River water and a hotter, drier future, the combination of smart policy, technological innovation, and expanded reuse will ensure that our communities remain resilient. By continuing to invest in these proven strategies—and treating efficiency as our most valuable resource—our municipalities are not just managing a challenge today; they are guaranteeing a sustainable lifestyle for millions of Arizonans for generations to come.

For over 56 years, the 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 information, visit www.amwua.org.