This year marks the 25th anniversary of the Scottsdale Water Quality Laboratory, which has played a vital role in ensuring safe and clean drinking water, reclaimed water and storm water for the community.

Originally built in 1998 as part of the Scottsdale Water Campus, the lab began operations in early 1999 and received its first license from the Arizona Department of Health Services in 2000, according to a press release.

Since then, the lab has processed over 210,000 samples and analyzed more than 1 million substances, providing rapid, in-house testing that replaced slower contract laboratories previously used.

“Due to the extensive skill set of these chemists and microbiologists, the laboratory performs more methods in-house than was originally envisioned and therefore has outgrown the current facility,” Scottsdale Water Quality Director Suzanne Grendahl said in the release.

Gendahl has held her position since the lab’s inception.

In May, the Scottsdale City Council approved an expansion of the laboratory to support increased testing capabilities, including new and upcoming regulatory requirements.
Today, the lab monitors water from 13 treatment facilities, eight key entry points to the distribution system and 160 locations across the distribution system. Scientists test for more than 100 federally regulated substances and many unregulated contaminants to ensure Scottsdale Water continues to meet the highest standards in public and environmental health.

For more details, visit ScottsdaleAZ.gov and search for “Water Quality Report.”