Arizona Water Providers Share Plans to Incorporate Advanced Water Purification Systems
On Friday, April 11, 2025, the WRRC hosted a Water Webinar titled Advanced Water Purification in Arizona that featured a panel of leaders from Arizona’s three largest water providers. Each spoke about their city’s development of advanced water purification (AWP) systems to address ongoing water challenges in the state. AWP is an innovative approach to ensuring clean, safe, and sustainable water for Arizona communities by turning used water from homes into purified, potable water.
Jim Swanson, Assistant Director for the City of Phoenix Water Services Department, illustrated how one of the nation’s leading utility services is approaching AWP. While the Phoenix area enjoys adequate water supplies today, Phoenix Water seeks to conserve water and use resources efficiently to ensure continued water supply in the future. Swanson’s presentation described several water purification facilities currently being designed and constructed to expand AWP services in Phoenix. In the next presentation, Kevin Rose, Interim Water Director for the City of Scottsdale, described the potable recharge systems Scottsdale has been running for the past two decades, including delivery of reclaimed water to golf courses. The Scottsdale Water Campus is home to the Advanced Water Treatment Facility (AWT), and plans to expand its services and develop increased purification capabilities are in the works. Representing the City of Tucson, John Kmiec, Director of Tucson Water, described the challenges of and plans for diversifying water sources for Tucson residents. He explained that water services in the area draw from one of the largest PFAS-affected aquifers in the country, and that Tucson Water has taken steps to improve water purification to address this. Development of an AWP plant is underway in Tucson, with a target operation date of 2031.
These three major water providers are working together to expand AWP operations, increase awareness, and overcome customers’ reluctance to use treated wastewater. Research and construction of AWP systems and programs are ongoing in all three utility service areas to ensure safe and reliable purification of reclaimed water for Arizonans today and into the future.