AMWUA Blog
Wastewater Treatment Plant Turns Gaseous By-Product Into Profit
Arizona'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...
Dec 26 2016
Five Water Challenges for Arizona from Avondale's Councilmember IwanskiThere wasn't much David Iwanski didn't know about Arizona water when he joined AMWUA's Board of Directors in 2014. Avondale Councilmember Iwanski trained as an attorney, spent four years in the Army and served as an aide to the late Arizona U.S. Congressman Eldon Rudd. It was Rudd who instructed him to learn everything he could about water and energy in the West. That led to a job with the U.S. Bu...
Dec 19 2016
Gilbert Grows Program To Help HOAs Lower Water BillsIn the last two years, the Town of Gilbert has more than doubled the number of Homeowners Associations enrolled in a free program that takes the guesswork out of landscape irrigation. The program walks HOAs through the steps that lead to thriving landscapes while using less water and saving money. That information fosters greater harmony among HOA board members, residents, property managers and la...
Dec 12 2016
Lawmakers Get Answer To Arizona’s Biggest Water QuestionWhen I meet people and they find out I work in water, they always ask me this question: When are we going to run out of water? Arizona legislators - particularly those who were just elected - have the same concerns and questions about the state's water supplies. Many of these lawmakers from both urban and rural communities attended AMWUA's legislative forum on December 7th to get answers. AMWUA as...