AMWUA Blog

Nov 13 2017

Arizona has been working hard to ensure the Secretary of the Interior does not declare a shortage of Colorado River water and cut the state’s water supplies. It has taken a team effort – and that team has included you. In recent years, homeowners and businesses have paid a little more for their water and those higher water rates have helped the state avoid a water shortage. Here’s how....

Nov 06 2017

The AMWUA cities’ conservation pros have worked together for nearly four decades to lead their municipalities toward a culture of conservation. There's very little these professionals don’t know about water-efficient homes or water-efficient residential and commercial landscapes. Together and individually, they have created ...

Oct 30 2017

Technology is now available to transform wastewater into a purified drinking water source. This advanced water recycling could provide millions of gallons of drinking water a day for urban centers and small rural communities and slow demand for water in aquifers, lakes, rivers and streams. Water professionals are careful about the words they use to describe this technology. They are eager to assur...

Oct 23 2017

The idea of constructing buildings that use less water and energy and more Earth friendly materials didn’t begin with large commercial projects. Building green started with homes and in Arizona it started with homes in the City of Scottsdale. In 1998, Scottsdale became one of only five cities in the country to offer homebuilders green building certifications. The city patterned its Green Building ...

Oct 16 2017

The number of gallons of drinking water a utility produces each month is not the same number of gallons paid for by its customers. Each month, a certain percentage of drinking water produced by a utility disappears for a variety of reasons. In Arizona this is called “lost and unaccounted for water” and the state has long had tough regulations in place to minimize lost water in large utilities. Now...

Oct 09 2017

Amy Baker is an organizer. This self-described beer snob can regularly organize a dozen or two friends for a bicycle tour of her favorite craft breweries. Amy just finished organizing her fourth AZ Water Association fundraiser for Water for People, which improves water infrastructure in nine countries. City of Peoria residents have benefited from her organizational skills for more than a decade. T...

Oct 02 2017

It is crucial for Arizona to avoid a shortage declaration of Colorado River water by the federal government because our state would take the first cut. Cities would still receive the same amount of water in an initial or tier-one shortage declaration, but any shortage declaration is bad for business because it negatively impacts public perception of our state. Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey has gathered ...

Sep 25 2017

It seems unlikely that divers would be in demand in the middle of the Sonoran Desert, but cities call on them regularly to help keep their water treatment plants operating reliably and efficiently. Don’t picture these professional divers in goggles with air tanks on their backs swimming among fish. These contractors operate more like construction crews who happen to work underwater. ...

Sep 18 2017

Our first overhaul of AMWUA.org in a decade is big, bright and bold. It’s not all flash and dazzle, although that’s what makes it more fun—and far easier—to explore. Going deep into the new AMWUA website is effortless and well worth your time. The ...