AMWUA Blog
Peak Demand Dictates How Cities Build Water Infrastructure
It's no surprise that demand for water in the Phoenix Metro area reaches its peak during the summer months. What may be surprising is that demand nearly doubles from the winter months to the summer months. In February 2015, City of Peoria customers - businesses, apartment buildings and homes - used 2,940 acre-feet of water. In July, Peoria’s peak rose to 6,516 acre-feet of water. (One acre-foot of...
Aug 08 2016
Monsoon Season: 5 Common Landscape MistakesIn 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 sunsets, but it makes caring for desert landscapes a bit more mysterious. There's more weather than usual: humidity, dust, rain and high winds. With lots of anticipation for more monsoon activity, we asked con...
Aug 01 2016
Water Bank Recovery: Preparing for Shortages on the Colorado RiverFor many years, the State of Arizona has been storing water underground to prepare for times of drought. One way Arizona has accomplished this is through the efforts of a little-known state agency called the Arizona Water Banking Authority, commonly known as the ...
Jul 25 2016
Water Bank: Arizona’s Emergency Savings AccountIn the early 1990s, Arizona was not using all the water it was legally due from the Colorado River. Instead, much of Arizona's unused water flowed down the Colorado River to California. Here's why: Under the law that governs the Colorado River, the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Interior can give water not used by one state to other states. As a result, each year California was the beneficiar...
Jul 18 2016
Safe-yield: A Balancing Act For Arizona’s AquifersThe goal of safe-yield has motivated Arizona's cities to maximize their use of renewable water supplies - such as river water or recycled wastewater - and to minimize pumping groundwater. Safe-yield means the amount of water pumped out of the ground is the same as what goes back into underground aquifers. The efforts of Arizona's cities to use renewable supplies and to protect groundwater have hel...
Jul 11 2016
Salt River: Bringing Life To A Desert ValleyA 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 pumps known as the ...
Jul 04 2016
Fourth of July: Celebrating Our Water HistoryIndependence 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, such as affordable, safe water. Today we have safe drinking water at a reasonable cost delivered right inside our homes and businesses....
Jun 27 2016
Water Professionals Take On Role As First RespondersThe important role of water professionals as first responders was a lesson relearned after 9/11 and, again, after Hurricanes Katrina in 2005 and Sandy in 2012. These events prompted many water utilities throughout Arizona and the country to intensify disaster training for their employees, including lab and computer techs, plant operators, engineers and repair crews. With water so critical to our h...
Jun 20 2016
Keeping It In Perspective: Bottled Water And Other IndustriesRecently, 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 year and employ 40 to 50 people. To many people - and for many reasons - a water-bottling plant in a desert city seems like a bad fit. Some people question how this Valley can support manufacturers and industr...