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The History of Water and Water Filtration in Phoenix (1 of 3)

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 The Aussie Plumber Podcast — Episode: Understanding the History of Water in Phoenix (Part 1)

James “The Aussie Plumber” Hill retraces Phoenix’s early water saga—from the late 1800s revival of Hohokam canal irrigation to the monumental completion of the Roosevelt Dam in 1911.

What you’ll learn in this episode:

  • Why early settlers copied ancient canal systems and how those canals supported agriculture and mining communities.
  • How repeated floods and droughts pushed farmers and local leaders to form the Salt River Project and commission major dams.
  • The role of the Roosevelt Dam and subsequent projects in controlling floods, storing water, and reducing sediment load — an early step toward treated water.
  • When Phoenix built its first modern water treatment plant (Verde, 1949) and why that mattered for public health and urban growth.

Subscribe to the Aussie Plumber Podcast, follow us on social media, or call (602) 820-5551 to schedule your free in-home water filtration estimate at TheAussiePlumber.com.

Send us your plumbing questions.

The Aussie Plumber Marketing:

Oi mates, welcome to a special Aussie Plumber podcast. Today we're bringing you the first part of this deep dive into the history of water and water filtration in Phoenix, Arizona. It's a story of survival in the And who better to break it down expert himself hailing from the You know him as The Aussie Aussie Plumber headquarters in Introducing the one the only Mr.

James Hill - The Aussie Plumber:

G'day mate.

The Aussie Plumber Marketing:

James. So much to unpack today, the first episode of our three part series. Let's take it back to the When we're talking about water in Phoenix, a supply of water in a desert. When does it all begin?

James Hill - The Aussie Plumber:

Well, a good place to start is around the late 1800s and early 1900s, pioneers like Jack swilling saw ancient Hohokam canals and thought, we can do this. But it was desperate times. They literally began digging the from the salt River. So I think this area is a good By the spring of 1868, the They reconstructed the canal, which irrigated fields of wheat fed nearby mining communities.

The Aussie Plumber Marketing:

All right. So for Phoenix, the hard part We've got water, and water was literally flooding into the area. And when I say flooding, I mean

James Hill - The Aussie Plumber:

You know, sometimes they were The main purpose of the water at the time was to develop farmland, began growing many crops if the farmlands underwater. Here's an example for you, mate. The flood of 1891 destroyed salt River and cut Phoenix off Then in the 1900s, more floods. The situation was getting much worse and there was no end in sight. Farmers prayed for a miracle and got more than what they asked for. That's right mate. A water drought, in fact, an The farmers said enough is It's what they really wanted to It's time to take matters into So they formed the salt River Valley Water Users Association in 1903, which became the salt River project. A side note here, Nick. Did you know that there's an old called the top of the world? Arizona?

The Aussie Plumber Marketing:

Really?

James Hill - The Aussie Plumber:

And right next to the top of the Arizona. In 1906, construction began. And the famous Roosevelt Dam.

The Aussie Plumber Marketing:

It took them five years to complete the project, but by 1911. Boom! The Roosevelt Dam rises like a Now, James. The idea here is that the Roosevelt Dam would control the constant floods and preserve the crops. Right.

James Hill - The Aussie Plumber:

Now, first I've got to say, for an absolute beauty, mate in Like we said before, the dam, Floods, rain, runoff and waste dry spells, leaving stagnant water. The dam created the first kind Now, this wasn't a treatment plant like we know today, but finally that we saw some sort of water treatment like chlorine disinfection. And the dam did a great job of sand from the river itself.

The Aussie Plumber Marketing:

And by the way, folks, the Roosevelt Dam is not to be confused with the famous Hoover Dam. The Hoover Dam is that famous tourist destination near the Grand Canyon. The dam we are referring to here is the Roosevelt Dam, which is about one hundred miles past Apache Junction.

James Hill - The Aussie Plumber:

That's right Nick. And if you you're best to take highway 87 south about forty miles. You pass through Punkin Center The road is completely paved now, and you should be able to stop by Old Superior, Arizona and get a good feel for the old vintage vibes.

The Aussie Plumber Marketing:

Now, by the year 1920, Phoenix had established itself as the dominant city in Arizona and expanded its influence within the southwest. A controlled water source, warm attractive enough to see a I mean, the city more than twelve thousand people during was completed in 1911, to thirty But was the city ready, James, for the increase in demand for infrastructure?

James Hill - The Aussie Plumber:

Well, I'll tell you what, mate. Good old Cave Creek wasn't ready In 1916, they had a major flood. Then three years later, in 1919, they had a flood, then again in 1921. And well, you guessed it, the very next year, in 1922, another flood. At this point, Cave Creek came very next year. This is 1923. Now they would rush to complete a mini dam called the Cave Creek Dam. It really did a great job. Anyways, Phoenix was getting it right people at the right time federal government they really

The Aussie Plumber Marketing:

Funny you say that because at president of the United States Roosevelt Dam himself, President Right.

James Hill - The Aussie Plumber:

So not quite. Mr. Roosevelt Dam But you are right that FDR was And. Well, I guess Phoenix just had a of the Roosevelts.

The Aussie Plumber Marketing:

Right, right. So so Franklin D Roosevelt in the 1930s launches a series of country wide economic reforms called the New Deal. And through that, programs like and the Civilian Conservation And they make an immediate Right, James?

James Hill - The Aussie Plumber:

Yep. And damn, they were really Another dam project broke ground Bartlett Dam on the Verde River The infrastructure was really More roads, more sewers, more water supply projects that made And there are a lot better hood

The Aussie Plumber Marketing:

Okay, so by the 1940s, Phoenix cracks America's top two hundred list with over sixty five thousand residents. Things are moving fast, but with the feds helping Phoenix out, there was nothing to worry about, right?

James Hill - The Aussie Plumber:

Well, that sixty five thousand half a million by 1960. This is when the city got bylaws like restricting on lawn But let's not get ahead of

The Aussie Plumber Marketing:

Oh, boy. All right, all right. But, James, with all of that water coming in and those dams controlling it. What about water treatment Did they have any of those at

James Hill - The Aussie Plumber:

So the year 1949, that's when treatment plant was completed. The Verde water treatment plant. It was built just north of east of Mesa, on the base of the Red mountain. They demolished it in twenty But you talk about the So from 1910 or whatever, until chlorinated river water. So that's right. There was a real game changer of Phoenix as the water becomes somewhat filtered. There was a big improvement.

The Aussie Plumber Marketing:

Well, James, talk about a blast Our first episode in this three second episode begins at 1950. We dive deeper. Not literally, of course, but we dive deeper into water treatment plants and the water supply networks that make up Phoenix, Arizona. And by the way, you can reach the Aussie plumber by calling(602) 820-5551. Or you can find us online by visiting TheAussiePlumber.com to schedule your free in-home water filtration estimate. We hope you enjoyed listening to our first episode of Understanding the History of Water in Phoenix as much as we did, researching and recording it for you, and be sure to subscribe to the Aussie Plumber podcast. Follow us on social media and this three part The Aussie history of water and water