Arizona’s population has grown steadily over the years, however through significant investments in water conservation and infrastructure and the reuse of water, our water use is essentially the same as it was more than half a century ago.

To take a closer look at this pattern, replacing agricultural lands with municipal development almost always results in a net decrease in water use. It takes approximately 6 acre-feet per acre to grow cotton or alfalfa in our desert climate, and only around 1 acre-foot per acre to serve a subdivision, though these numbers can vary depending on climate, the crop grown, and the density of the urban development. In addition, almost all of the water that enters urban wastewater treatment systems can be reclaimed and reused.

Future sources of water include: desalinated, brackish groundwater; desalinated ocean water (noting that currently desalination of ocean water may be part of Arizona’s water supply in the future, but it is very expensive and energy-intensive); direct potable reuse of reclaimed water; transfers of Colorado River water from agricultural to urban uses; limited inter-basin transfers of groundwater.

In the Greater Phoenix area, we have access to several sustainable sources of supply. We have surface water from the Colorado River and our local Salt and Verde River Watershed, we have groundwater, and we have recycled and reused water.