AMWUA Blog
50 Years of AMWUA: Collaboration On Water Creates Urban Success
In an arid state, cooperation on water is not always easy to achieve. That’s why the cities in the Phoenix Metro area are proud that we’ve been working together on water issues for five decades. ...
Dec 24 2018
No Fish Tale: Avondale Tilapia Farm Saves The City Money
The City of Avondale’s Water Department raised 2,800 fish this summer with help from Blue and Stripe, the most prolific couple in the city’s tilapia breeding colony. The tilapia help clear algae from the 21 connected lakes that are part of a 72-acre wetlands project within Avondale’s Crystal Garden residential development. By breeding its own tilapia, the city has cut the cost of stocking the fish...
Dec 17 2018
Purified Recycled Water: City of Scottsdale Innovation Turns 20
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 Plant at the Scottsdale Water Campus has been recognized internationally as one of the world’s most innovative water purification projects. Scottsdale built the Advanced Water Treatment Plant to accommodate gro...
Dec 10 2018
Infrastructure: What You Pay For When You Pay Your Water Bill
Cities keep water flowing into your home and business and whisk away wastewater 24 hours a day – every day. This daily convenience that you and your family take for granted requires cities to relentlessly build, repair, maintain and expand acres of treatment plants and miles of pipes and pumps. Cities employ and train professionals to safeguard these complex systems by monitoring them daily using ...
Dec 03 2018
Carefully Crafted Plan is Arizona’s Path to Protecting Colorado River
Arizona is much closer to being able to implement the Lower Basin Drought Contingency Plan (LBDCP), a plan that requires sacrifices from all water users to prevent far deeper shortages of Colorado River water that would negatively impact the state’s economy. The ...
Nov 26 2018
New Arizona Prize: Mesa (And You) Win The Water Public Art Challenge
A piece of sculpture at a public intersection was once considered public art. Things have changed. Public art has become more of an event, such as a community mural designed and painted through a partnership between an artist and neighbors. The City of Mesa has taken this idea to sophisticated levels. It is a city that knows how to pair artists with community groups and awaken the imagination with...
Nov 19 2018
6 Things You Need To Know About Your Wastewater
Each time you wash dishes, wash a load of clothes, take a shower or flush a toilet you create wastewater. The wastewater leaves your home and enters your city’s collection system where gravity and pumps help it flow to a treatment plant. Then need, law, and technology turns Arizona’s wastewater into anything but waste. Water professionals now refer to treated wastewater as reclaimed or recycled wa...
Nov 12 2018
Free Program: Technology Helps Gilbert Commercial Properties Save Water, Money
Using the right amount of water to keep a landscape thriving is more important than ever with the ongoing drought and the rising cost of water. For nearly a decade, the Town of Gilbert has been providing its commercial water customers with the expertise they need to create and operate efficient irrigation systems. Last year, Gilbert took another big step by introducing the Water Efficient Technolo...
Nov 05 2018
Drought plan must preserve Arizona’s long-term water management
The cities in the Valley of the Sun utilize just over 10 percent of all the water used in Arizona. Through smart planning and investment, these cities supply the water needs of both small businesses and large industries that contribute the majority of Arizona’s $320 billion gross domestic product (GDP)....
Oct 29 2018
8 Tips To Help Your Trees Stand Up To The Weather
Did you lose a tree during this past summer’s monsoon season? Trees are a big investment and we grow to love them. We miss their shade and beauty when they are gone. There are ways to help a tree stand up to monsoon winds, but it is best to start when they are young. Here are eight things you need to know about growing a tree strong enough to weather desert winds and rain. ...