MARICOPA
– Gov. Janet Napolitano will attend the inauguration of
the Global Water Center in Maricopa, Ariz., on May 18.
Global
Water Resources’ new operations and service center is
designed to be Arizona’s new capitol for water recycling
and sustainability. The center will provide meeting space
for the discussion of water issues.
The
governor’s press secretary, Jeanine L’Ecuyer, told The
Desert Advocate that the Global Water Center is a significant
addition to the state.
“The
significance has to do with the way we manage growth,”
L’Ecuyer said.
“You
can’t just plan housing, transportation and water separately.
You have to plan it altogether.
“Because
Global is doing this, the center fits in with the governor’s
priorities.”
The
meeting room seats 120 people, providing sufficient space
to host state and regional conferences. Global, former
owner of Cave Creek Water Co., is a member of the Arizona
Water Institute, a think tank formed by the state’s three
universities.
“Several
times a year we plan to bring people together to talk
about water scarcity issues in the face of the state’s
explosive population growth,” said Paul Walker, spokesman
for Global Water.
The
center is the first commercial building in the state to
use recycled water to flush toilets and is the first Leadership
in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) utility facility
in Pinal County. LEED sets standards for building green.
The center’s roof is made entirely of recycled aluminum;
walls are recycled Styrofoam; the counters are recycled,
and the energy efficiency is state‑of‑the‑art.
“Global
has been working with state regulators, local communities,
and Indian tribes to promote our vision for water recycling
and management,” Walker said.
A
Global Water Resources policy called the Triad of Conservation
requires using recycled water for all outdoor irrigation
and flushing toilets, recharging aquifers with recycled
water, and using surface
water mainly from the Central Arizona Project.
Recycling
water and bringing in surface water can reduce groundwater
consumption by as much as 75 percent, Walker noted.
“Anthem
is an example of a very well thought out water management
system,” he said.
Walker
went on to say that Australia and an area in New Mexico
go so far as to use direct re‑use or recycled water
for drinking. “Our idea is not to have to get there (to
direct re‑use). By recycling, when you need fresh
water to drink, it will always be available.”
Water
desalinization is another frontier.
Desalinization
is expensive, however, and produces a low‑quality
salt byproduct which has no commercial use, according
to Walker. He said the salt cannot be dumped back into
the ocean because it would threaten plant and animal life.
Also, transporting the concentrated salt to concrete
landfills for disposal is a costly process.
The
third‑largest privately owned water company in Arizona,
Global serves communities across the state including western
Maricopa County, the Parker area, and north Maricopa County
near Fountain Hills.
