Transporting and processing wastewater for 2.5 million people is not a small undertaking, which is precisely why an innovative partnership between five AMWUA cities is vital to keeping everything...
Since its inception, Scottsdale Water’s vision has been to build water sustainability through stewardship, innovation, and people. Now 50 years later, they continue to achieve that. In...
Wetlands are areas of land where water covers the soil. They are natural or manmade. The water may be static or flowing. And the water can be any type - salt, fresh, reclaimed, or even a...
With people taking extra precautions and proactively washing their hands more, some may wonder what impact it is having on our water and wastewater. That question does not have a simple answer...
Our planet only has a finite amount of available freshwater. And over the course of time, our water has always moved through a natural cycle of use and reuse. As we move forward with a better...
It was a celebration of statewide sustainability as Arizona Forward held their Annual Environmental Excellence Awards this past weekend highlighting exemplary projects that have directly impacted...
Later 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...
The City of Scottsdale operates a water treatment plant that converts raw sewage from the city’s homes and businesses into purified water in less than 12 hours. The Advanced Water Treatment...
With a little strategy and knowledge, it’s easy to enjoy color in your desert yard all four seasons of the year. The cities of Avondale, Chandler and Glendale are offering free October...
The days are getting shorter and the shadows a little deeper. We’re all eager to spend more time outside, including making those changes to our landscape that we’ve been considering all...
Investing in a tree adds shade to your yard, value to your home and is a gift to your city. The Cool Urban Space Project by the City of Phoenix, University of Arizona and Arizona State University...
Container gardens of cactus and succulents can add color and dimension to a yard, drama to a small patio, and life to an apartment balcony. They also can be frustrating and leave you with dead and...
In this season of gift giving, consider helping a less fortunate neighbor by making a donation through your city’s monthly water bill. It’s a simple way for a lot of people to...
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...
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...
Lisa Osborne and her husband bought their City of Avondale home in 2008. They planted two citrus trees in the backyard that sat in a field of gravel for years and proceeded to turn brown. Until...
Central Arizona's desert cities offer rebates, outdoor water audits, videos, free publications and landscape classes to help customers use water more efficiently outdoors. Cities also lead by...
We're approaching peak demand season for city water departments, which means peak water bills for residents and businesses. The demand for water is at its highest in June or July when landscape...
Is this your year to become a water advocate? Yes, I know, we're all pressed for time, but water advocacy doesn't have to take much time. What it takes is a question or a suggestion to the...
Since 1998, the City of Scottsdale has been treating about half of its wastewater to near drinking water standards. It's an expensive process that uses reverse osmosis technology, but the city...
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...
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...
In 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...
The 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...
Like 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...
Steve 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...
Water is life and nowhere is that more apparent than in the desert. Fountains and pools of water were built into ancient cities, including desert cities, for both practical and aesthetic reasons....
Mark Xerxis is a chemist, but don't imagine him behind a set of tubes, Bunsen burners and microscopes. Mark runs the metals lab within Scottsdale's Water Quality Laboratory, which means...
As you fly into Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport bright blue dots mark thousands of backyard pools. For decades, backyard pools have been as common as sunshine in Valley neighborhoods. Many...
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...
The goal of safe-yield has motivated Arizona's cities to maximize their use of renewable water supplies - such as river water or recycled wastewater - and to minimize pumping groundwater....
The important role of water professionals as first responders was a lesson relearned after 9/11 and, again, after Hurricanes Katrina in 2005 and Sandy in 2012. These events prompted many water...
The City of Scottsdale wants to create more water wonks. Scottsdale Water is giving 20 residents an opportunity to explore the science, engineering and labor it takes to keep water running day and...
The cost of delivering clean water to your home or business is rising. So is the cost of treating and reusing wastewater. The increase may already be reflected in your water bill, or soon will be....
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...
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,...
Here's the first rule about changing your landscaping: start with a plan. A plan takes a little know-how and right now many of your cities are offering classes about how to revamp, restore or...
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...
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...
Etched on the wall at the entrance of the City of Scottsdale's Xeriscape Garden is this: "Demonstrating the Beauty of Saving Water." That is a lovely explanation of why some cities...
A mussel about the size of a dime is breeding by the millions in reservoirs fed by the Colorado River. These invasive creatures, which can grow a little larger than a quarter, threaten the delivery...
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....