Conservation actions are more vital than ever as pressures on our water supplies increase. While reducing your water use won't solve the Colorado River shortage, conservation enables your city...
One of the simplest but essential tasks we can do as residential water consumers is to maintain a water-efficient home. By doing so, we minimize water waste and conserve energy which then reduces...
As the weather warms up, many of us will look around our yards and wonder if our plants and trees are feeling the heat and require more water, or if we can simply trust that our automated...
The most important action you can take as a residential water consumer is to maintain a water-efficient home. By doing so you minimize water use, conserve energy and reduce your water and sewer...
Summer temperatures have arrived meaning it is time to be cool in the pool. Pools are one of the greatest outdoor water users. So before you dive in, it’s important to ensure your...
Did you know that ten percent of American homes have leaks that waste 90 gallons or more per day? Over a year, this adds up to nearly 1 trillion gallons of wasted water nationwide. Is...
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...
Monsoon storms brought temperatures down and brought more desert dwellers out to their patios. It's the time of year when homeowners begin to reimagine their yards: a new tree here, some...
The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation recently confirmed Arizona would not face a declared shortage of Colorado River water in 2017. This is good news but Arizona's cities, farmers and industry...
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...
In writing about the monsoon season, I'm hoping we do not jinx having more storms. The monsoon season in the Valley is a great time of year for suddenly cooler temperatures and extraordinary...
In a 3.2-acre space hemmed in by traffic noise, office buildings and warehouse construction sits a living classroom. The University of Arizona's Maricopa County Cooperative Extension is a place...
Many Southwest cities help their utility customers pay for long-term water-saving changes they make to their homes and yards. These changes can include buying a more water-efficient toilet or...
Lake Mead has dropped to a historic low with a Colorado River shortage declaration looming as soon as the next couple of years. Arizona's water managers have planned and prepared for a Colorado...
People like the idea of reusing laundry water to irrigate their yards. It's called a laundry-to-landscape graywater system. Installing a graywater system is part of a growing movement of...
If you're working to make your landscape more water efficient, don't forget to add one of many drought-tolerant trees that thrive in the Metro Phoenix area. Trees can raise property value,...
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)...
Drought-tolerant plants and trees require less maintenance and water than a lawn. Yet, how do you remove grass, whether at your home, an HOA's common space, an apartment complex or a business?...
Homeowners Associations (HOA) face a difficult balance trying to keep their common areas looking attractive while also keeping water bills under control. The City of Phoenix is the latest AMWUA...
Carol Ward-Morris, AMWUA's Assistant Director, has been elected to the Board of Directors of the Alliance for Water Efficiency (AWE). The Alliance is a non-profit organization dedicated to...
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...
Are you paying more for your water than your neighbor? It's a real possibility. All 10 AMWUA member cities have tiered residential water rates. That means the more water you use, the more...
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....
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...
Cities in the Greater Phoenix Metropolitan Area are willing to give you money and free experts to make water-saving changes in your home or business. But each city creates a different package of...
Fix a Leak Week is a big deal around here. This year it's even bigger for City of Goodyear baseball fans. Fix a Leak Week is a funny name for a serious campaign. The U.S. Environmental...
Each year an average family in the City of Tempe uses about 30,000 gallons of drinking water to wash clothes. Tempe is the first city in the Greater Phoenix Metropolitan Area to help homeowners pay...
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 the last 22 months, the Phoenix Zoo reduced its water use by 20 percent. That saved the zoo $80,000 on its water bill over the past two years and conserved 19,500 million gallons of drinking...
You pay a landscaping company to save you the time and energy it takes to maintain a lovely green space. Twenty years ago, Arizona recognized that landscapers could do more. They could help their...
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...
Valley homeowners use as much as 70 percent of their water outside, particularly during the summer months. Here's the frustrating part: many homeowners can grow the same lovely outdoor spaces...
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...
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...
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...
So you sit on your back porch during a good monsoon storm and watch sheets of rain fall off the edge of the roof. Where you see rain, there is a small group of people who see your watershed. These...
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....
Charlene Kelly lives on Phoenix's Westside with her daughter and a grandchild who likes to flush toilets just for the joy of it. Mrs. Kelly and her late husband bought their home 30 years...
MYTH 1: A desert garden means replacing grass with ugly gravel. Plants, not gravel, dominate the loveliest desert gardens. Gravel is a low-maintenance ground cover, or rock mulch, that reduces...
The city of Avondale gave Mae Jorgensen a $200 check when she removed the grass from her front yard and replaced it with desert landscaping. Avondale gave her another $200 when she removed the...
On March 22, some good sport in the water community will once again struggle into a 6-foot-tall toilet costume and lead the One for Water 4-Miler Race around Rio Vista Community Park in Peoria. The...