View Source | June 17, 2013
Arizona State University scientists and policymakers share their ideas and opinions regarding Arizona's largest city's water conservation and consumption in a recent New York Times article. The article, written by Fernanda Santos, tells a positive story about how a metropolitan region can survive, in fact flourish, in a desert landscape that only gets an average of eight inches of rain per year.
The fact that golf courses are irrigated with graywater, treated wastewater is used in power plants and urban wetlands, and efficient, water-saving technologies used in buildings may be helping Phoenix consume less water than large cities like Los Angeles.
"We’re often maligned as being an unsustainable place simply for existing in an arid climate," said Colin Tetreault, senior policy adviser for sustainability for Mayor Greg Stanton and an ASU School of Sustainability alum. "But that’s just myopic."