In north Phoenix, where the landscape is a patchwork of scrubby desert and master-planned communities, the future of the city’s water system is taking shape. With climate change and drought shrinking the amount of water in the rivers and reservoirs that supply the nation’s fifth-largest city, Phoenix is betting big on technology that can turn sewage into clean, safe drinking water. It will allow water managers to squeeze every last drop out of the supply they already have at a time when they expect less to be coming down the pipe from once-dependable sources. … [T]he [Cave Creek Water Reclamation Plant] project is coming at a pivotal time, as federal officials are proposing steep cutbacks to the Central Arizona Project, which delivers Colorado River water to the Phoenix metro area.

Other desalination and water purification news:

• U.S. News & World Report: What you need to know about desalination, a growing source of drinking water
• Smart Water Magazine: Desalination and energy efficiency: electrical solutions for a water-scarce world
• KTAR (Phoenix): Video: Arizona’s first Advanced Water Purification Plant halfway through construction