SCOTTSDALE, AZ — Scottsdale gets 72% of its water from the Colorado River. As that supply shrinks, the city is weighing a costly but potentially critical alternative: ultra-purified, recycled wastewater piped into the drinking supply.
The federal government has already ordered states to reduce how much water they draw from the Colorado River, and Lake Mead is sitting at less than half its capacity. That pressure is pushing Scottsdale to look at options.
Scottsdale Councilmember Solange Whitehead said the situation is more urgent than anticipated.
“We’ve been planning for this for at least 25 years. But it is much more severe than we perhaps had hoped or even planned for,” she said at a recent city council meeting.
Scottsdale has recycled water for decades — using it on golf courses and to recharge groundwater — but drinking it is a different conversation. A treatment plant, near 101 and Pima Road, houses one of the most advanced water recycling systems in the country. The process is known as Advanced Water Purification.
The city ran a small pilot program for ultra-purified drinking water before pausing it at the end of 2024, as state officials added new rules the following year for monitoring and testing requirements.
David Walby, who oversees Scottsdale Water Resources, said the city has long been ahead of the curve on using recycled water.
“We've been industry leaders for a very, very long time,” he said as he led ABC15 on a recent tour of the plant.
But staying ahead now comes with a steep price tag.
Scottsdale City Manager Greg Caton told city council members at a recent meeting that the projected cost has grown far beyond original projections.
“We had historically budgeted this project at anywhere from about $15 to $20 million, and it escalated up to nearly a $100 million,” he said.
The city has hired a consultant. More details are expected this spring. Some councilmembers say the idea is too important to ignore.
“The water purification is water we already have — that we don't need to purchase more,” said councilmember Maryann McAllen.
Supporters of the idea say the finished product is so thoroughly purified it’s cleaner than some bottled water. Critics, including some residents, call it “toilet to tap,” arguing the public isn’t ready to accept the idea.
Scottsdale has not yet made a final decision on whether to move forward. Caton said the money for the project has not been included in the city’s preliminary budget for next year because it would first require a policy decision by the council to move forward.
Email ABC15 Investigator Anne Ryman at: anne.ryman@abc15.com, call her at 602-685-6345, or connect on X and Facebook.
