Since the release of the Phoenix Active Management Area (AMA) Groundwater Model, attention to its findings has grown to include claims that we do not have enough water, which will stop or seriously...
Despite the impression given by some stories in the national media, the ten AMWUA cities have diverse water portfolios and can meet the demands of their residents and businesses not just for today...
The recently released Phoenix AMA Groundwater Model has generated much attention and conversation. While it's an important step forward to continue our long history of securing and...
Leaders from Valley communities gathered with U.S. Senator Kyrsten Sinema at AMWUA last week to discuss the water challenges they collectively face as the Colorado River situation escalates. City...
Although conservation alone will not resolve water challenges, having it rooted in our daily actions enables us to better weather drought and shortages. Being water-wise will be critical to our...
Arizona’s water story will become more complex as we head into a Colorado River Tier 1 Shortage in 2022. To offer insight into what the Colorado River Shortage means for Arizona,...
This 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...
There 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...
Cities in the Phoenix Metropolitan area are experimenting with building methods to slow storm runoff and allow more of it to be absorbed into the ground instead of rushing into streets and down...
Jim Lane's resume is packed with past and present memberships on important governing boards, such as the League of Arizona Cities and Towns and Maricopa Association of Governments. After...
Independence Day. However you celebrate - whether by the pool or watching fireworks with your favorite drink in hand - it is an excellent opportunity to contemplate what we often take for granted,...
Recently, Phoenix announced a water-bottling plant was opening in a vacant warehouse on the city's west side. The plant reportedly will bottle about 35 million gallons of Phoenix tap water a...
Sound long-term water management is vital to ensure that Arizona has a strong economy both in urban and rural parts of the State. This is why the Arizona Municipal Water Users Association (AMWUA)...
February in the Valley of the Sun means spring weather, golf tournaments, rodeos and our State's birthday on Valentine's Day. February also means the State Capitol is abuzz with Legislators...
"Lead" is a verb. It means to guide, to show the way. Protecting Arizona's water future will require our elected officials to lead us forward the way past generations took charge when...
There are many Big Government programs you've never heard of that simply work. They don't generate headlines, political debate or viral videos. They often have names that put people to...
When you pay your water bill, a big part of the charges is something called a sewer fee. If you live in an AMWUA member city, it's the responsibility of your city's water department to...
The Town of Gilbert is helping businesses brag about what they are doing to save water. You'll know a business is conserving when you see a Water Wise Gilbert decal in its window or yard sign...
Arizona desert cities have a distinctive style. There are few other cities where you'll find mesquite and palo verde trees in parks, giant blue agaves and golden barrel cactus in yards,...
AMWUA started its weekly blog posts in March 2014. This is our 83rd message to a growing audience. The AMWUA Blog is designed to explain where the Valley's water comes from, how cities deliver,...
Grass does have a role in our desert environment with proper care and appropriate irrigation. There are heat-tolerant and less thirsty varieties of turf for those who love that patch of green in...
Some U.S. cities and towns still don't use water meters. Instead, the overall cost of delivering water and sewer services is tallied every month and divided by the number of customers. A...
There are 11 neighborhoods in the Town of Gilbert where residents have collectively saved 135 million gallons of water over five years. This achievement didn't happen by accident. About 25...
Arizona has a reputation for crazy ideas. Sometimes those crazy ideas are just crazy and sometimes they turn into marvels. Take, for example, this crazy idea from 1969: Arizona knew a population...
The City of Goodyear has a 500,000 gallons-per-day brine problem. That problem will only grow as the quiet little West Valley city along the Estrella Mountains expands. Goodyear is working on an...
When it comes to water supplies in this extended drought, there seem to be two Arizonas. Most Arizona cities are reassuring their residents and businesses that water supplies are secure. In other...
Businesses that use an exceptionally high volume of water and want to set up shop in the City of Chandler will have to prove they bring significant benefits to the city, or pay more for their...
Remember the first time you saw Phoenix? If you weren't born here, you most likely flew in and then drove down a freeway. The desert landscaping that lines our freeways is one of those cultural...
Desert dwellers love a good rain, but cities long considered stormwater runoff a nuisance. Cities built massive infrastructures to drain it away quickly before it could flood streets and yards. In...
Along with thirty conservation leaders and experts in the southwest, I've been wrestling with a project since 2013. It's part of the Moving Forward effort initiated by the Bureau of...
If you want to find out how to save water and keep a little grass in the back yard, how about asking a city with more than 400 acres of Bermuda to care for? The City of Scottsdale maintains 42...
During the last few decades, cities in the Phoenix Metropolitan area became bustling economic centers providing jobs and homes for millions of new residents. Development spread across what had been...
The cities of Mesa and Chandler provide the Gila River Indian Community with reclaimed water to irrigate its growing farm industry. In exchange, the Gila River community gives Mesa and Chandler...
City water managers always think ahead. That's why the Phoenix Metropolitan area has weathered a 15-year drought and is prepared for possible water shortages in the future. This habit of...
Facing unprecedented water shortages, California Gov. Jerry Brown has imposed mandatory urban water use reductions of 25 percent. The Governor's order followed years of low snowpack and runoff...
AMWUA member cities are focused on keeping water flowing in and out of your homes and businesses day in and day out. At AMWUA, we're all about solutions. Always have been. It's our job....
Do you remember the old low-flow shower heads? Some of them were awful, weren't they? Those old shower heads began to give water-efficient fixtures an image problem that was hard to shake....
The desert is not a place where water is taken for granted. In desert cities, water must be managed. Each of the AMWUA member cities has a water management plan and part of that plan is storing...
There is almost always a decision to be made in a hotel bathroom. You can save water and hang up your towel for a second day's use or throw it on the floor, signaling the housekeeper to provide...
"In the depths of the Great Recession, the hardest hit state agency was the Department of Water Resources. A wealth of institutional knowledge, vital to maintaining Arizona's relative...
In 1986, the Town of Gilbert began storing treated wastewater in a pond at Cooper and Elliot roads. It did not surprise town officials that the pond attracted birds, but they were surprised by how...
A different sort of national environmental organization has set its sights on Arizona. Change the Course wants to help maintain enough water in Arizona rivers to keep plants, birds and fish...
In 1978, swindler Ned Warren was convicted of 20 counts of fraud for selling land in Arizona without access to water. Two years later, the drafters of the 1980 Arizona Groundwater Management Act...
Tempe Town Lake is a manmade lake set in a dry riverbed in the middle of the desert. The 261 acre urban lake is a surprise to newcomers and still a marvel to those who were here when it was first...
The Town of Gilbert helps homeowners associations take the guesswork out of irrigation costs. The town's voluntary program keeps landscapes looking lovely, saves money and water, and maintains...
Last week, California finally took baby steps to manage its decades old problem of landowners drilling wells to pump groundwater whenever and wherever they pleased. The new laws could take up to...
Solving the mystery of Lost and Unaccounted for Water can save a city money and conserve water on a grand scale. Lost and Unaccounted for Water, also known as non-revenue water, is the...
In 2000 the City of Phoenix began digging piles of trash, tires, appliances, and hulks of old cars out of a 5-mile section of the Salt Riverbed that had served as a dump for decades. Today, the Rio...
Back when George H. W. Bush was president, the U.S. Congress passed a law that has helped the country conserve its water supply as we face drought and climate change. There was nothing glamorous...
It takes a lot of power to get water to every Scottsdale home and business because much of the water must be delivered in underground pipes going uphill. Fortunately, what goes up must come down....
A Phoenix baker, carwash owner or pastor can expect far higher water and sewer bills than a Phoenix homeowner. The difference is not just the higher volume of drinking water going into their...
Green infrastructure is a vague name for a particular way of designing streets, sidewalks, plazas and parking lots to make better use of rainwater. Green infrastructure redirects more storm runoff...
Valley cities can treat wastewater to such a quality that it can be used to fill small fishing lakes in parks, to irrigate landscaping, and to be stored for later use in underground aquifers. This...
A recent article in "Environmental Leader" magazine cited a study that called water conservation "low-hanging fruit" often ignored by property managers looking to save money....
It took until June 12, 1980 for Arizona to decide it was not ok for farmers, cities, developers, and businesses to pump as much groundwater as they wanted,whenever and wherever they needed it. By...