WESTCAS Western Coalition of Arid States

The City of Chandler, Arizona – a progressive, cutting-edge City where entrepreneurial spirit and hometown traditions create a truly dynamic destination. Chandler delivers exceptional amenities and diverse cultural facilities amid a world-class innovation hub. Careful management of water has allowed the City to prosper in a desert setting.  Each day, City of Chandler Water Quality Specialists perform up to 100 tests on the drinking water its citizens receive at their home or business. These tests ensure that their water meets every health and safety standard set by the state and federal government.

In 2015, the city of Glendale Water Services Department celebrated its centennial, marking 100 years of providing safe, reliable, high quality water and wastewater services to the community. Although Glendale has changed significantly over the last century, one thing remains constant—the city’s commitment to providing exceptional water and wastewater services. Today Glendale operates four water treatment plants and two water reclamation facilities and provides water and wastewater services to more than 230,000 people.

The City of Peoria Public Works - Utilities Department activities touch the lives of Peoria citizens every day. The Public Works - Utilities Department is comprised of a team of technical and administrative personnel dedicated to providing excellent service. The Water Resources division’s purpose is to ensure a sustainable water supply for Peoria residents and businesses, now and in the future. Due to the regulatory need to reduce groundwater mining, Peoria has converted to renewable water resources for the majority of its water supply. This division is responsible for coordinating and acquiring water rights, planning for the cost-effective acquisition and/or development of additional supplies, obtaining and maintaining the city's Designation of Assured Water Supply, and maintaining regulatory compliance with the Arizona Department of Water Resources (ADWR) water management rules.
In November 2007, the City Council adopted the “Principles of Sound Water Management” --- a compendium of 17 policies that cover topics ranging from regulatory compliance to water conservation to land use water management to drought planning. The "Principles" act as an over-arching policy guide for the city's water future, and are unique among Arizona municipal providers. Two key Peoria water resource principles are: (1) the pursuit of water reclamation, both direct reuse and recharge, to conserve drinking water supplies, and (2) recharge groundwater with unused renewable water supplies and implement strategies to recover those renewable water supplies when needed.
Ancillary to optimizing their water supplies, The Water Resources Division is also responsible for complying with drinking water rules for their potable water system, Arizona Pollutant Dischatge Elimination System (AZPDES) permits and State of Arizona Aquifer Protection Permits for three reclamation facilities, and more.

The City of Phoenix Water Services Department is responsible for Phoenix's water and wastewater programs.  The water program provides a safe and adequate domestic water supply to all residents in the water service area. The wastewater program assists in providing a clean, healthy environment through the effective management and treatment of wastewater. The City of Phoenix provides drinking water to more than 1.5 million people within its 540 square-mile service area. On average, about 95 percent of Phoenix's water comes from surface water (lakes and rivers) and the remaining water comes from groundwater (wells). Each May, the city distributes and posts to the web a Water Quality Report  that contains important information about the quality of its water. Phoenix is committed to providing the highest quality drinking water and service to its customers.

Scottsdale Water has been providing quality drinking water and advanced reclamation services to Scottsdale businesses and residents for over 40 years. In 2014, Scottsdale Water delivered an average of 67 million gallons of water a day to its customers.  Its service area covers 185 square miles with over 88,000 active water accounts, about 90 percent of which are residential accounts, and approximately 80,000 active sewer accounts. Scottsdale Water has a long history of thinking and acting strategically with its water resources.
They were the first Arizona water utility to implement indirect potable reuse with the Advanced Water Treatment (AWT) facility located at the award-winning Water Campus. The AWT is one of the largest and most sophisticated indirect potable reuse facilities in the world and has been an industry leader since the facility began operation in 1998 as a zero discharge facility.
Scottsdale’s reclamation system has approximately 1,400 miles of sewer collection lines and over 40 lift stations. Through extensive and innovative groundwater recharge practices, a diverse water supply portfolio, and a commitment to promoting conservation, Scottsdale Water is ensuring safe, reliable drinking water for its customers now and in the future.

The Water Resource Management Department of the City of Surprise includes management of water and wastewater utilities, water-related capital improvement projects, as well as oversight of the Environmental Division focused on regulatory compliance and planning for its water future. There are 13 drinking water service providers within the Surprise special planning areas.
The Surprise Wastewater System protects the health and environment of its residents and meets strict federal and state water quality requirements. Currently, Surprise owns and operates the majority of the wastewater infrastructure within its incorporated boundaries. Surprise converts raw sewage into its final form of Class A+ quality reclaimed water through biological treatment, filtering and disinfection. The wastewater is regularly monitored to ensure that it meets state and federal regulations for direct reuse and recharge. After undergoing treatment, the reclaimed water flows through pumping stations where it is sent to various end users to be reused.
The majority of Surprise's reclaimed water is used for agricultural irrigation, groundwater recharge, landscape irrigation and dust control. On average, approximately 7.3 million gallons per day are reused or recharged.

The Environmental Services Section of the Water Utilities Division of the City of Tempe is responsible for compliance with the Federal Clean Water Act, Safe Drinking Water Act, Aquifer Protection Permits, existing National Pollution Discharge Elimination Permits (NPDES) and the Arizona Pollution Discharge Elimination Permits (AZPDES) requirements for operation of the sanitary sewer, stormwater, water production, and wastewater treatment/discharge, Arizona Department of Health Services(ADHS) licensed laboratory.

The five programs within the Environmental Division are Backflow Prevention, Pretreatment, Regulatory Compliance, Stormwater, and the Water Quality Laboratory. Its purpose is to provide a safe and healthy quality of life for its customers by enabling the skills and talents of its employees to: provide clean, safe drinking water; collect and safely treat wastewater; create and maintain a sustainable environment; maintain competitive user rates; and, provide a superior level of customer service. They do this through the combined efforts of 150 diverse and dedicated water, environmental and administrative professionals that serve Tempe on a continuous basis, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and 365 days a year.

The goal, and highest priority to the City of Yuma’s customers, is to take all necessary actions to ensure the delivery of a reliable water supply of the highest quality at reasonable and equitable costs. As part of accomplishing its goal, they commit to working cooperatively with others on projects of mutual public benefit to achieve the greatest possible efficiency and effectiveness. Their Treatment Division manages the City’s drinking water production and wastewater treatment.  This division also ensures compliance with EPA’s Clean Water Act, Safe Drinking Water Act, and biosolids regulations via Industrial Pretreatment, Cross Connection Control and the Environmental Laboratory. 
The Utility Department’s Treatment Division includes water and wastewater treatment, industrial discharge pretreatment, cross-connection control and laboratory services.

he Cortaro Water Users Association acts as the Agent for the Cortaro-Marana Irrigation District, which serves the agricultural irrigation needs of the Marana, Avra Valley and Cortaro communities. The District owns approximately 65 miles of pipelines and concrete canals, providing irrigated water to more than 12,000 acres of farmland.

The District also offers water storage and non-potable service within its service area. Originally created to protect valuable water resources, the District continues a long-standing tradition of providing irrigated water to area farmlands, in addition to water storage and non-potable water to various regions of the northern Marana area.

The District works closely with other governmental agencies, including Pima Association of Governments, City of Tucson, the Bureau of Land Management and other organizations, including the Arizona Municipal Power Users’ Association and the Colorado River Water Users’ Association. The District is committed to achieving maximum yield while following strict water conservation and protection guidelines.

The Fountain Hills Sanitary District is a governmental entity separate from the Town of Fountain Hills. The District’s sole purpose is to collect, treat, and dispose of wastewater and its byproducts within the Town of Fountain Hills and a very small portion of the City of Scottsdale. The District operates in accordance with Title 48 of the Arizona Revised Statutes and is governed by an elected five-person board of directors. The District was established in 1969 and constructed its first wastewater treatment facility in 1974.

Today, the District operates a 2.9 million gallon per day wastewater treatment facility, 18 raw wastewater pump stations, over 200 miles of sewer lines, and an advanced water treatment facility. The District provides sewer service to over 13,000 residential connections, 300 commercial connections, and reclaimed water for irrigation to three golf courses and three town parks. The District employs a staff of 41

Gust Rosenfeld is a full service law firm established in 1921 with offices in Phoenix, Wickenburg and Tucson. The firm is known for the quality of its lawyers and legal advice, as well as its creative insights and practical solutions in business, public and civil law.

Gust Rosenfeld is experienced in alternative dispute resolution, bankruptcy and creditors' rights, business and corporate law, commercial finance, education law, environmental law, franchises and franchising, insurance, intellectual property, labor and employment, litigation, natural resources, health care law, public finance, public law, real estate, taxation, and trusts and estates.

The Pima County Regional Wastewater Reclamation Department (RWRD) provides design, management, and maintenance of the sanitary sewer system, including the conveyance and treatments systems (3,400+ miles of sewer, two metropolitan wastewater treatment plants and seven sub-regional facilities). Its vision is to be an industry leader in the management and sustainability of the water reclamation cycle and other renewable resources. Its mission is to protect the public health, safety, and the environment by providing quality service, environmental stewardship, and renewable resources.

RWRD's updated five-year Strategic Plan (FY 2014/15 - FY 2018/19) provides a guide to decision-making and resource management in pursuit if its organizational vision, mission and goals. It identifies, goals, and key performance indicators to drive success across six dimensions (pillars) of the organization and across three core business systems.

SRP, located in the southwestern United States, has more than 100 years of experience in water resource management and power generation in the Sonoran Desert. SRP operates a system of seven storage dams and 1,300 miles (2,092 kilometers) of canals and laterals, delivering more than 1 million acre feet of water annually to municipalities and irrigators. As the nation's oldest multipurpose water reclamation project, SRP operates and maintains an irrigation system that typically delivers more than 325 billion gallons of water to municipal, industrial, agricultural and urban irrigation systems each year.

SRP works with the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality to address known pollution problems through special projects. SRP also collaborates with the City of Phoenix and other communities in the Phoenix metropolitan area to implement water conservation measures and programs to monitor and protect water quality.

One of SRP's most important water management programs is water quality monitoring. It provides information about patterns and trends in SRP surface and groundwater quality and also about potential pollution sources. SRP monitors the rivers within the watershed, as well as the canals and groundwater wells within its water service area.