Delivering safe and clean water is always the top priority

The quality of your drinking water is an important responsibility the AMWUA cities take extremely seriously. That is why city staff rigorously test, analyze, and monitor water quality every single day to ensure that the water provided to their communities and all of our families, friends, and neighbors is clean and safe. 

The AMWUA cities consistently meet all the safe drinking water standards set by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) , the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) , and the Maricopa County Environmental Services Department . These requirements fall under the Safe Water Drinking Act, bringing accountability and safeguarding high water quality standards. 

In other words, your tap water is safe, clean, and protected. Water utilities are among the most regulated industries in the country, which is why they perform more than 100 tests on your tap water daily. However, ensuring water quality always remains high is not a simple process.

Over the course of the year, Valley water utilities collectively perform millions of tests and measurements to ensure water treatment and distribution systems are safe. Each of the AMWUA cities has an aggressive water quality program with a dedicated team of chemists, technicians, and specialists who head out daily to the various water service areas to test for hundreds of substances using state-of-the-art equipment and laboratories to make sure your water consistently meets the safe drinking water standards.

When you consider the multiple water sources  utilized by the AMWUA cities, including the Colorado River, Salt River Project (SRP), reclaimed water, and groundwater, we must realize that each of those requires different treatment methods due to the water's varying makeup. Diverse water sources cannot be treated equally. To better address those treatment challenges, the cities have invested in vast infrastructure and advanced treatment facilities so that there is always enough safe and regulated water while striving to keep it affordable for households throughout the Valley.

The water that enters water treatment plants contains many particles, many of which are natural, organic particles suspended in the water. This makes the water appear cloudy, often referred to as turbidity, which is a measurement of how clear the water is. The goal of the water treatment process is to decrease turbidity, make the water clear, and remove any particles that may be harmful. After the multi-phased process, a chemical such as chlorine is added as the final stage of treatment to remove and prevent potentially harmful microorganisms from growing. The treatment process must ensure the water maintains drinking water standards all the way through the system until the water is delivered to homes and businesses, schools, and healthcare facilities.

In addition to the treatment process, continual monitoring, and frequent testing of water samples, each municipality must provide regular reports on their water quality detailing each sample. Annually, a report with all that data is compiled and submitted to ADEQ for final approval. This process ensures high water quality and brings accountability while eliminating the danger of a major water contaminant crisis. Also, please note that you will be notified if water quality is ever an issue in your city.

You can always get complete information about the quality of the water delivered to your home from your local water provider. To read your municipality's latest water quality report, please visit the appropriate links below.

For 55 years, the Arizona Municipal Water Users Association has worked to protect our member cities' ability to provide assured, safe, and sustainable water supplies to their communities. For more water information, visit www.amwua.org .