WESTCAS Western Coalition of Arid States

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.

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 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 Association of California Water Agencies (ACWA) is the largest statewide coalition of public water agencies in the country. Its 430 public agency members collectively are responsible for 90% of the water delivered to cities, farms and businesses in California. ACWA’s mission is to assist its members in promoting the development, management and reasonable beneficial use of good quality water at the lowest practical cost in an environmentally balanced manner.

In fulfilling its role, ACWA identifies issues of concern to the water industry and the public it serves; accumulates and communicates the best available scientific and technical information to the public and policy makers; facilitates consensus building; develops reasonable goals and objectives for water resources management; advocates sound legislation; promotes local service agencies as the most efficient means of providing water service; provides additional services of value to its members; and fosters cooperation among all interest groups concerned with stewardship of the state’s water resources.

The Department of Utility Services is responsible for all facets of water, wastewater, and reclaimed water services for the City of Henderson. The Department provides treatment and distribution of drinking water, collection and reclamation of wastewater, laboratory testing services, utility infrastructure planning and management, and customer care and billing services.

Their mission is to provide vital water and wastewater services to their citizens while protecting the environment, health and prosperity of their community. They provide high quality potable drinking water, which meets or exceeds all federal and state water quality requirements. The City maintains more than 1,200 miles of water pipelines, and more than 920 miles of sewer pipelines. The Department’s water quality laboratory collects water samples from their treatment plans every day, and conducts hundreds of tests every month.

The Utility Operations Division of the City of Rico Rancho Department of Public Works is organized into three sections: Environmental Programs, Utility Operations, and Utility Systems.

The Environmental Program Section provides rebates for high-efficiency toilets and high-efficiency washers; manages water conservation programs; implements water restrictions and manages water waste complaints; conducts water use audits; manages domestic well program; manages backflow prevention program; and, manages Industrial Pre-treatment program.

Their Utility Operations Section is responsible for reporting and repairing leaks in City right-of-way areas, analyze water quality information, plan and design water, wastewater, or recycled water public improvements projects, maintains and oversees the water, wastewater, and reuse water contracts, and maintains Federal and State permits for the utility Facilities. This section also works with the Utility Commission which works with the public to get their input and concerns about water, wastewater, and recycled water.

The Utility Systems Section is responsible for line location of water and wastewater, as well as approval of water and wastewater service.

On Tuesday, August 2nd, WESTCAS along with 28 national, state, and regional organizations sent the attached letter regarding numeric nutrient criteria to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Administrator Lisa Jackson and copied EPA Office of Water's Acting Assistant Administrator Nancy Stoner. The letter affirms the municipal clean water community's dedication to addressing nutrient-related impacts but highlights key concerns with U.S. EPA's current approach for developing water quality criteria for nitrogen and phosphorus.

WESTAS submits testimony regarding the FY 09 Environmental Protection Agency Budget on April 25, 2008.

WESTCAS letter to Mr. Terry Breyman, Council on Environmental Quality, regarding comments on December 3, 2009 "Proposed National Objectives, Principles and Standards for Water and Related Resources Implementation Studies"