PHOENIX — Nearly $180 million in federal funding will be spent on a new advanced water purification facility in Phoenix, officials announced Wednesday.
The funding will help cover the design and construction costs of Phoenix’s new North Gateway Advanced Water Purification Facility that will treat 8 million gallons of recycled water each day.
When combined with in-progress upgrades to the Cave Creek Water Reclamation Plant, the city’s water treatment sites will produce about 12.5 million gallons of water per day.
Advanced Water Purification (AWP), which both sites will use, is the process by which wastewater is recycled into drinking water “so clean it meets or exceeds federal and local drinking water requirements,” according to the city’s website.
The Arizona Department of Environmental Quality permitted the technology to be used at the local level in March.
The facilities will reduce the city’s reliance on the Colorado River and reduce the costs for residents of obtaining clean water.
The $179 million the city received fell short of the $292 million it received preliminary approval for in the fall, and the federal funding will supplement the $321 million put forth by the city. It comes via the Biden administration’s Inflation Reduction Act.
What do local lawmakers say about water purification facility funding?
“This ongoing drought is a major issue in our state and one of the limiting factors for economic growth,” U.S. Rep. Greg Stanton said in an announcement. “The more we can do on conservation, including and especially advanced water purification, [it] is going to go a long way toward moving our economy forward.”
Stanton was one of the biggest advocates for the project, and he toured the Cave Creek facility in October.
He wrote a letter to federal officials in September calling AWP the “single most important technology for reducing the reliance of municipal populations on the Colorado River.”
Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego said the projects will also impact the local housing economy.
“This new (AWP) facility will help us reduce the cost of getting Phoenix residents water, and it’ll make housing more affordable,” Gallego said.
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