Water scarcity has been a long-standing issue, and one that keeps getting worse. In fact, around eight percent of the population in the country lives in areas deemed to have “high or severe water limitation,” according to the USGS. Solutions are needed. And one has emerged from the pack that is delivering Pure Water.
Across the U.S., advanced water treatment, often called Pure Water, has become a practical, proven way to turn already-treated wastewater into a high-quality water supply. For communities in Arizona and across the Western United States, these projects are less about novelty and more about long-term reliability, economic resilience, supply control, and now necessity.
We know that urgency is growing in Arizona, which is set to lose a significant portion of its Colorado River allocation in 2026. The proposed 27-30% reduction equals roughly 760,000 acre-feet for the state, a major hit to Arizona’s residents, businesses and its economy.
This is where a proven solution like Pure Water comes in and has the potential of addressing much of the loss in water resources, simply by purifying and reusing water resources that are readily available in our community today.
LEARN MORE: As drinking water sources shrink, how is Arizona creating more drinking water?
What Made Scottsdale a Leader in Water Reuse
In fact, Scottsdale, Arizona became home to the state’s first advanced water treatment plant in the late 1990’s. The Scottsdale Water Campus earned recognition as a national leader in indirect potable reuse. The facility has the potential of being enhanced with the additional processes that would allow for direct potable reuse, further growing its Pure Water resources.
Over these past 30+ years, Scottsdale has been building a water “savings account” and is a particularly relevant example for Arizona communities with its advanced water treatment facility supporting aquifer recharge. Its treatment process includes ozonation, membrane ultrafiltration, reverse osmosis, and UV photolysis, and depending on conditions, purified water is reused directly for irrigation and industrial purposes or injected into aquifer storage wells. Aquifer recharge functions like a “water savings account,” and it helps to stretch existing supplies, manage seasonal fluctuations, support long-term population growth, and sustain tourism and economic development.
“When we built the Scottsdale Water Campus we knew it would have an important impact on our community,” said Jaren Murphy, president of the National Water Group at McCarthy Building Companies. “While the process was relatively new at the time, other municipalities have adopted Pure Water strategies and are taking them further with direct potable reuse. We’re seeing these projects have even more significant positive results in areas where water scarcity is challenging communities.”
How Pure Water Helped a Texas Town Address a Drought Emergency
In Wichita Falls, Texas, Pure Water emerged as a drought emergency strategy when severe drought pushed the community into dire circumstances. After much investigation into its options, Wichita Falls decided to pioneer direct potable reuse. At its new facility, treated wastewater undergoes microfiltration and reverse osmosis, two advanced water treatment strategies.
Purified water was then blended 50/50 with raw lake water and the blend went through conventional drinking-water treatment before distribution. This case demonstrated that advanced treatment could provide a dependable backup when traditional supplies become critically limited. It helps protect residents, businesses, employers, and essential city services during extreme drought. In fact, once the city overcame its emergency water status, many residents rallied for a permanent indirect potable rese facility because the Pure Water tasted so much better than raw water being treated only through the conventional treatment process.
Orange County Shows How Large-Scale Water Reuse Works
In Orange County, California, where one of the world’s largest indirect potable reuse projects is operated by the Groundwater Replenishment System (GWRS), Pure Water strategies are performing at a large scale. Instead of discharging treated wastewater into the ocean, Orange County further purifies it into drinking water.
The treatment process involves microfiltration, reverse osmosis, and UV light with hydrogen peroxide. Then, the purified water is used to recharge groundwater and maintain a seawater intrusion barrier. The key takeaway? Potable reuse can function as a major, everyday component of a regional water portfolio. And it demonstrates the concept of creating a reliable “new local supply.”
Orange County residents strongly support water reuse. Their broad acceptance of Pure Water strategies as a successful way to address regional water challenges offers other communities across the U.S. a credible model. They accomplished this level of support through extensive and proactive community outreach and education. These efforts include keeping the doors of the facility open to tours, hosting and participating in community events, ongoing media outreach and being highly transparent. McCarthy not only helped build the facility but continues to partner with GWRS on community outreach in an effort to help other communities across the U.S. understand Pure Water strategies, how advanced water treatment works and becoming comfortable with the process for safely purifying recycled water.
“Once people understand how the process works, they overwhelmingly embrace it as a solution to water scarcity,” explained Murphy.
El Paso, Texas Opts for Local Control of its Water Supply
Finally, in El Paso, Texas, the city is creating a locally controlled renewable water supply by developing its Pure Water Center that uses a direct-to-distribution approach. Treatment technologies include reverse osmosis, UV disinfection with advanced oxidation, and granular activated carbon filtration, and this is all designed to convert treated wastewater into drinking-water-quality supply.
The benefits of this project are plentiful, including providing a locally controlled water source, and creating a renewable supply of water that increases alongside population and wastewater production.
What Makes Pure Water Financially Feasible?
Pure Water projects are more financially feasible than other water reuse strategies, such as desalination or digging deeper wells, for several reasons. They do not require long pipelines to transport water because Pure Water strategies recycle and purify water that is already available in our community. It also requires significantly less power to treat wastewater than seawater or briny aquifer water. Pure Water projects also have far less waste product and maintenance requirements than other water resource treatment strategies.
Additionally, Pure Water solutions allow municipalities to combine multiple funding and financing sources to pay for the projects over time, which softens the blow to communities and does not rely entirely on ratepayers footing the bill. In fact, Pure Water projects in Arizona are receiving Bureau of Reclamation grants, which is money that doesn’t have to be paid back, and investments from the private companies to support these projects.
Water Reuse Puts Reliable, Clean Water Within Reach
The bottom line for Arizona is that Pure Water is primarily a risk-management strategy The technology itself is already established, and the larger value lies in creating a dependable, high-quality water supply.
It’s important to look at the economic and community benefits. It supports continued population and economic growth, protects existing investment, helps maintain essential services during drought, and reduces dependence on increasingly uncertain traditional water sources.
There’s also greater local control involved when Pure Water strategies are in place. The Colorado River supplies remain vulnerable to cuts and changing interstate rules. Locally produced recycled water gives municipalities more control over their own water portfolios. Unlike many Western water challenges, potable reuse is a strategy individual communities can actively pursue.
Ultimately, water scarcity is a persistent threat, and action is needed. Yet as these Pure Water success stories showcase, the projects show how advanced water treatment is a proven solution that can help Western communities build reliable water supplies even as drought and Colorado River uncertainty intensify.
Author: Patrick Payne, Vice President of Operations with McCarthy Building Companies National Water Group.
