AMWUA Blog
DCP Is Done and the Snowpack’s Great, but We Continue To Prepare
On March 19th, representatives from the seven states that rely on the Colorado River met to celebrate their collective agreement on the Drought Contingency Plans (DCP). In a letter to Congress, the Colorado River Basin States asked for federal legislation that would direct the Secretary of the Interior to execute DCP as the States have agreed to. With the long process of interstate negotiation set...
Mar 18 2019
Fix A Leak Week: Save Water and MoneyDid you know that ten percent of American homes have leaks that waste 90 gallons or more per day? Over a year, this adds up to nearly 1 trillion gallons of wasted water nationwide. Is your home in that ten percent?...
Mar 11 2019
50 Years of AMWUA: Regional Committee Plants the Seeds for a Conservation CultureThe 1980 Arizona Groundwater Management Act required ...
Mar 04 2019
What Impact Does Precipitation Have On Our Drought and Water Supplies?When you live in a place where drought spans multiple decades, every bit of precipitation receives an enthusiastic welcome, but what does that really mean to our drought status, and what effect does it truly have on our water supplies?...
Feb 25 2019
New Arizona Prize: Scottsdale Takes A Deeper Look At Our Water HistoryLater this year, you will have the opportunity to download a free app that will reveal the landscape of the Phoenix Metro area as shaped by the first Sonoran Desert people. The app will feature a map of today’s Valley and, with a swipe, a map of the Valley’s prehistoric landscape. You may find a canal and agricultural field, a ceremonial building, a ball court or an adobe village once occupied the...
Feb 18 2019
Non-Vetted Water Bills Threaten More Than DCPArizona demonstrated last month it could protect its Colorado River water and maintain control of its future, when the Governor signed legislation approving the State’s participation in the Lower Basin Drought Contingency Plan (DCP). Now, state legislators have introduced more than two dozen bills dealing with water, revealing that Arizona has two fundamentally different ways of tackling important...
Feb 11 2019
50 Years of AMWUA: Longest Serving Executive Director Built Modern, Productive OrganizationWhen the mayors of the Cities of Phoenix, Scottsdale, Mesa, Tempe and Glendale formed the Arizona Municipal Water Users Association in 1969, AMWUA’s staff consisted solely of the Association’s attorney. The group met in the attorney’s office or a nearby building. Then things changed in 1980 when the legislature passed the Arizona Groundwater Management Act, which required cities to move away from...
Feb 04 2019
DCP: Milestone for Arizona But Now What?Arizona took an important step on January 31 to protect its Colorado River water and maintain control of its future when the Governor signed legislation approving the State’s participation in the Lower Basin Drought Contingency Plan (DCP). In doing so, Arizona proved to itself and fellow Colorado River basin states, that it still has what it takes to hammer out a hard-fought compromise that ultima...
Jan 28 2019
AMWUA Mayors Urge Legislature to Approve DCPThe Legislature needs to pass the Lower Basin Drought Contingency Plan (Senate Joint Resolution 1001). They must take action to make sure this happens by January 31st, the deadline imposed by the Federal Government for when it will step in and decide how to protect the Colorado River....
Jan 21 2019
Why Do We Not Have Water Restrictions?Q: Why aren’t there water restrictions in place? We’re in a desert, we’re in drought, and we are facing shortages of Colorado River water. Shouldn’t we be using less?...