On March 3 about 1,000 people will pick up a new weather-based smart irrigation controller for their home at a fraction of the retail cost. These WaterSense labeled controllers come with...
Setting water rates is never easy. There are two overriding considerations for a city when calculating a new rate structure. First, city water departments need to cover service costs. These costs...
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...
Grease 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....
Imagine watching your water consumption online in real time as easily as you access your checking account or medical records. By Spring 2017 about 5,000 City of Tempe homes and businesses will have...
A likely shortage of Colorado River water in Arizona is big news. It should be. Colorado River water makes up 44 percent of the state's water supply delivered through 336-miles of canals and...
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...
The City of Tempe is finishing the largest public works project in its history. Tempe Town Lake has a new $47 million steel dam 900 feet long and, in some places, sunk 80 feet into bedrock. The new...
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...
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)...
Baseball players and fans want to see spring training fields covered in bright green grass ready to play ball. That means a host city must dedicate water to keep the grass green and irrigate the...
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...
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....
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...
Ever wonder about the quality of water that comes out of your faucet? If you live in the City of Phoenix, most of your water comes from the Colorado, Salt and Verde rivers. Water is delivered 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...
In 1973, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation broke ground at Lake Havasu for an engineering wonder that would carry an average of 1.5 million acre-feet of Colorado River water each year across Arizona...
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,...
The people who keep school buildings operating have a big job, and data from the City of Phoenix show they're doing it while saving water. Numbers from the city indicate that the volume of...
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...
Salt cedar is a bushy, invasive tree that can change the face of a landscape in a dangerous way. Three West Valley cities and Maricopa County are pushing to eradicate as much salt cedar as possible...
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...
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...
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...
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...