AMWUA Blog
50 Years of AMWUA: Regional Committee Plants the Seeds for a Conservation Culture
The 1980 Arizona Groundwater Management Act required ...
Mar 04 2019
What Impact Does Precipitation Have On Our Drought and Water Supplies?
When you live in a place where drought spans multiple decades, every bit of precipitation receives an enthusiastic welcome, but what does that really mean to our drought status, and what effect does it truly have on our water supplies?...
Feb 25 2019
New Arizona Prize: Scottsdale Takes A Deeper Look At Our Water History
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 map of today’s Valley and, with a swipe, a map of the Valley’s prehistoric landscape. You may find a canal and agricultural field, a ceremonial building, a ball court or an adobe village once occupied the...
Feb 18 2019
Non-Vetted Water Bills Threaten More Than DCP
Arizona demonstrated last month it could protect its Colorado River water and maintain control of its future, when the Governor signed legislation approving the State’s participation in the Lower Basin Drought Contingency Plan (DCP). Now, state legislators have introduced more than two dozen bills dealing with water, revealing that Arizona has two fundamentally different ways of tackling important...
Feb 11 2019
50 Years of AMWUA: Longest Serving Executive Director Built Modern, Productive Organization
When the mayors of the Cities of Phoenix, Scottsdale, Mesa, Tempe and Glendale formed the Arizona Municipal Water Users Association in 1969, AMWUA’s staff consisted solely of the Association’s attorney. The group met in the attorney’s office or a nearby building. Then things changed in 1980 when the legislature passed the Arizona Groundwater Management Act, which required cities to move away from...
Feb 04 2019
DCP: Milestone for Arizona But Now What?
Arizona took an important step on January 31 to protect its Colorado River water and maintain control of its future when the Governor signed legislation approving the State’s participation in the Lower Basin Drought Contingency Plan (DCP). In doing so, Arizona proved to itself and fellow Colorado River basin states, that it still has what it takes to hammer out a hard-fought compromise that ultima...
Jan 28 2019
AMWUA Mayors Urge Legislature to Approve DCP
The Legislature needs to pass the Lower Basin Drought Contingency Plan (Senate Joint Resolution 1001). They must take action to make sure this happens by January 31st, the deadline imposed by the Federal Government for when it will step in and decide how to protect the Colorado River....
Jan 21 2019
Why Do We Not Have Water Restrictions?
Q: Why aren’t there water restrictions in place? We’re in a desert, we’re in drought, and we are facing shortages of Colorado River water. Shouldn’t we be using less?...
Jan 14 2019
DCP: The Time Is Now
The most pressing issue facing Arizona as this 2019 legislative session begins is adoption of the Lower Basin Drought Contingency Plan (DCP). It is crucial that our elected officials take swift action to protect our Colorado River supply and economy by approving the carefully-crafted DCP Implementation Plan, which is supported by an overwhelming majority of stakeholders. Our state needs the certai...
Jan 07 2019
5 Tips: Caring For Your Desert Yard In The Winter
It’s patio season in the desert and it doesn’t take much to put your winter yard in top form and ready for winter guests. Here are five tips from our cities’ conservation professionals for maintaining a desert-adapted yard during the winter months so it will its best all year....