Water usage in Phoenix has dropped 20 percent in the past 15 years, the result of ongoing educational efforts and increased efficiency, city officials say.
According to information from the city's Water Services Department, average per capita daily usage has plunged from about 250 gallons per person per day to about 200 gallons.
Total water usage has held steady, even as the population has soared past 1.5 million people. advertisement
The city's quality of life has remained largely unaffected in spite of the reductions, said Ray Quay, assistant director of the water department.
Simple steps make a big difference, he said, such as turning fountains off at night, keeping turf areas relatively small and minimally watered, or covering a swimming pool to reduce evaporation.
Those kinds of changes among residents account for a good deal of keeping water usage in check.
The other piece, Quay says, is that new development, new plumbing fixtures and new appliances are more efficient in water usage.
In addition, Quay says, residential-vacancy rates appear to be higher than expected, and the economic downtown seems to have reduced water usage among large industrial and commercial users.
Steve Olson, executive director of the Arizona Municipal Water Users Association, said many of the Valley's established cities are seeing water-use declines.
Newer cities do not see the savings because they started up with efficient appliances, plumbing and landscaping, he said.
Olson said cities are looking at new ways to save water, from requiring shut-off faucets in restaurant kitchens to water-smart irrigation timers, as well as ways to recycle water inside a home.
He said Valley cities do much better than many Eastern cities because of necessity.
"We've been driven because we are in the desert," he said.
