SCOTTSDALE, ARIZ. — The Scottsdale City Council redirected $100 million from a wastewater recycling program to new water sources in June 2026. The budget change canceled a plan to add purified wastewater directly to Scottsdale's drinking water supply by 2027.

Scottsdale, with a population of 250,000, gets 70% of its water from the Colorado River. The city receives a higher percentage of its water from the river than any other city with the same population or larger in Arizona and California. Lake Mead and Lake Powell hit record lows in the summer of 2026. A federal proposal for the Colorado River outlines combined water cuts for Arizona, California, and Nevada that could affect more than 25 million people annually through 2036.

In 2024, the Scottsdale City Council adopted a six-year strategic water plan that included wastewater purification and recycling via its Advanced Water Treatment facility. That plan aimed to make Scottsdale the first city in Arizona to implement direct potable reuse on a system-wide basis. The council had initiated capital feasibility studies to understand costs associated with the expansion.

Barry Graham, an incumbent councilman, has publicly criticized the advanced water purification program as costly. Graham stated that advanced water purification would be a last resort in a water crisis, not implemented currently. He said he could not assume that every visitor and resident would trust or even listen to experts on the issue.

Former Republican state lawmaker Michelle Ugenti-Rita also expressed skepticism about the safety and cost of meeting new state regulations for the recycling program. Political candidates made claims that the recycled water is contaminated "poop water." In May 2026, Ugenti-Rita and actor Rob Schneider held up a glass of clear water and a glass of brown liquid in a campaign ad accusing opponents of pushing residents to drink sewage water. Opponents of Ugenti-Rita denied the accusation. Less than 1% of Scottsdale's liquid waste comes from toilets, according to water officials.

Bryan Cassens, assistant senior director for Scottsdale Water, defended the city's long history with water reuse. It’s so important to protect and reuse water in the Southwest. Here we already know it all.

We’ve been doing it for 28 years, Cassens said. He said the Scottsdale Water recycling facility is operating as normal despite the debates. Scottsdale pioneered its wastewater recycling system in 1998.

Scottsdale's Advanced Water Treatment Facility has treated recycled water via indirect potable reuse for over 20 years. The process allows water to reenter the city’s supply after undergoing steps including ozonation, ultrafiltration, reverse osmosis, and ultraviolet photolysis before injecting it into dry wells for natural filtration. The facility is large enough to serve 60,000 households. Since its inception in 1998, the program has enabled the city to inject over 70 billion gallons of water into local aquifers.

Some of Scottsdale's treated wastewater was sold to breweries to make beer. Approximately 7,500 people tried Scottsdale's treated water after facility tours and events, but no residents received it through their home taps. Water officials in Arizona are looking to replicate Scottsdale's wastewater recycling work in at least four other facilities.

Randall Matas, who leads the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality's Water Quality Division, said the department is making new rules easier to follow but will not finish until early 2027. Water officials in Scottsdale, Phoenix, and Tucson said new state requirements for mixing purified water into the drinking supply, such as tracking non-federally regulated chemicals, unnecessarily raise costs.

Cynthia Campbell, former water resource management adviser for Phoenix, said it was not a good time to be selective and questioned whether political games should be played with the one thing that makes it possible to live in the desert. The wastewater recycling program has become a factor in the three-way race for two seats on the Scottsdale City Council in the November 2026 election. Scottsdale Water officials said they will present options to the city council in October 2026 regarding the stalled program expansion.

Why It Matters

The cancellation of the direct potable reuse plan affects a city that relies heavily on the Colorado River, which supplies 70% of its water. With Lake Mead and Lake Powell hitting record lows in the summer of 2026, the decision to redirect $100 million away from wastewater recycling occurs during a period of heightened regional water stress. A federal proposal outlines potential cuts affecting more than 25 million people annually through 2036, making long-term supply strategies critical for municipalities in the arid West.

The issue has become central to the November 2026 election for two Scottsdale City Council seats, showing a divide between officials who view advanced purification as a necessary precaution and those who consider it a costly overreaction. While the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality works to finalize new testing standards in early 2027, Scottsdale Water officials must present new options to the council in October 2026. The outcome will determine whether the city proceeds with becoming the first in Arizona to implement system-wide direct potable reuse or pursues alternative water sources.

Timeline

VoteCast, which surveyed more than 3,000 Arizona voters, just over half of voters in the 2022 midterm election said they were "very" or somewhat confident that the state would have enough water over the next 10 years. The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation has committed to investing more than $300 million in advanced water purification projects in the arid West since last year.

Michelle Ugenti-Rita and actor Rob Schneider held up a glass of clear water and a glass of brown liquid in a May 2026 campaign ad accusing opponents of pushing residents to drink sewage water. The Scottsdale City Council replaced funding for a wastewater recycling program and other water projects with a $100 million allocation for new water sources and supplies in June 2026. The budget change canceled a plan to add purified wastewater directly to Scottsdale's drinking water supply by 2027. Lake Mead and Lake Powell hit record lows in the summer of 2026. "It’s so important to protect and reuse water in the Southwest. Here we already know it all. We’ve been doing it for 28 years."

What's New

In 2024, the Scottsdale City Council approved a Strategic Plan (2025–2030) that identified advanced purified recycled water as a long-term strategy to offset anticipated reductions in Colorado River supplies, initiating capital feasibility studies to understand costs. In 2024, the Scottsdale City Council adopted a six-year strategic water plan that included wastewater purification and recycling via its Advanced Water Treatment facility, aiming to become the first city in Arizona to implement direct potable reuse on a system-wide basis. A study titled "Improving Environmental Sustainability: A Geolocation-Based Mobile Application to Optimize the Recycling Process" was published in 2023 in International Journal of Interactive Mobile Technologies (iJIM).

Scottsdale's Advanced Water Treatment Facility has treated recycled water via indirect potable reuse for over 20 years, allowing it to reenter the city’s water supply as drinking water after undergoing processes such as ozonation, ultrafiltration, reverse osmosis, and ultraviolet photolysis. Scottsdale’s wastewater recycling program has been operating as normal despite political debates, according to Bryan Cassens, a city official. Scottsdale's water recycling program has served 60,000 households since its inception in 1998, demonstrating the long-term viability of the system before the current funding pause. Barry Graham, an incumbent councilman, has publicly criticized the advanced water purification program as costly and an 'alarmist' overreaction to drought, reflecting broader political skepticism about the project. The $100 million allocation for new water sources and supplies replaced funding for the wastewater recycling program and other water projects.

How Sources Differ

Sources differ on the Scottsdale City Council's recent actions and priorities. The Water Quality Report states that in 2024, the Scottsdale City Council approved a Strategic Plan (2025–2030) that identified advanced purified recycled water as a long-term strategy to offset anticipated reductions in Colorado River supplies, initiating capital feasibility studies.

Perspectives on water recycling expansion differ. The Water Quality Report states that Scottsdale's Advanced Water Treatment Facility is one of the largest and most advanced water recycling facilities in the world, having enabled the city to inject over 70 billion gallons of water into local aquifers since 1998.