AMWUA Blog
On The Job: Water Treatment Supervisor Uses Brains, Heart And A Little Muscle
Luiza Yordanova appreciates the Valley's winter weather as much as we all do but winter makes her job as supervisor of a City of Tempe drinking water treatment plant a bit more complicated. She sat down on a beautiful day earlier this winter to explain why....
Feb 27 2017
Sen. John Kyl: Compromise Is Key To Water LeadershipThis month, former Senator Jon Kyl told a gathering of elected officials and water professionals that Arizona's past water successes had one thing in common: the willingness of competing forces to compromise for the good of the state. Now, Senator Kyl said, it is time we do it again....
Feb 20 2017
Power Switch: Economics Driving New Energy for Moving WaterIn 2009, I was a new member of the Board overseeing the Central Arizona Project (CAP) and energy, not water, was the primary focus. I was surprised with my sudden immersion into the ins and outs of energy. Yet, there was a good reason for concentrating on energy....
Feb 13 2017
Wastewater Treatment Plant Turns Gaseous By-Product Into ProfitArizona's largest wastewater treatment plant already cleans and re-uses nearly all of the waste it receives from 2.5 million people in five AMWUA cities. Now, the cities that own the treatment plant have found one more way to re-use its products. As of spring 2018, the 91st Avenue Wastewater Treatment Plant will stop burning off the mostly methane gas it creates as a by-product. Instead, the plant...
Feb 06 2017
AMWUA Cities Help State Screen Schools To Ensure Safe WaterIn the first six months of 2017, Arizona will screen water samples from 7,000 school buildings looking for unsafe levels of lead. The program is designed to determine if drinking water is contaminated by lead that might be present in a school's plumbing lines, water fountains and faucets. Water sits in a school's plumbing systems unused over weekends and during holiday and summer breaks, which inc...
Jan 30 2017
Drought: Five Things You Need To Know About This Rainy WinterMany people are wondering what this rainy, snowy winter means for Arizona after more than two decades of drought. Here are five things we know right now....
Jan 23 2017
Desert Edibles: Cities Offer Full Menu Of Landscape And Gardening ClassesThe Sonoran Desert is an incomparable place to hike, bike, run, horseback ride and bird watch. When it comes to foraging for food, it's not so grand. Even those knowledgeable and enthusiastic about the topic admit that sifting and straining food from desert flora is labor intensive. It is, however, a labor of love for people who crave the tastes of the desert. If you think you may be one of them -...
Jan 16 2017
Grease Coop: A Beautiful Solution To An Ugly ProblemGrease sent down drains in restaurant kitchens has plagued city sewer systems since they were built. The Tempe Grease Cooperative takes an artful step toward better controlling the ugly problem. The program saves money for the City of Tempe and its businesses and transforms a government regulation into a government benefit....
Jan 09 2017
AMWUA: Preparing For 2017 By Looking At 2016 SuccessesLike you, AMWUA and its member cities already are working toward 2017 goals. At the same time, we're reviewing what went right in 2016. A look back provides a boost of confidence for us and we hope it will encourage you to get involved and help find ways to solve new and lingering water challenges. Here are a few examples of AMWUA’s work in 2016....
Jan 02 2017
In Memoriam: Steve Olson, 35 Years Dedicated To WaterSteve Olson arrived at AMWUA in the summer of 2005. He had the unenviable task of assuming the job of executive director from Roger Manning, who had been an institution at AMWUA for more than twenty years. Steve would face the challenge of guiding a non-profit through a difficult economic recession. But Steve was not new to the world of water policy or to city issues. His career in water spanned t...