Mike in the Wild

Just a mile east of the gigantic football stadium that the Arizona Cardinals call home lies part of the New River - Agua Fria Underground Water Storage Project (NAUSP).   Within a grid of six basins, water is collected for seepage and storage into a natural underground aquifer.  This precious resource arrives via canals from the Salt and Verde Rivers, and also the Colorado River via the Central Arizona Project, with additional reclaimed water (your clean-as-new sewer water!) coming from the cities of Glendale and Peoria,  The Salt River Project utility manages this vast engineering endeavor. The water in these basins creates 125 acres of temporary ponds that attract a variety of water dwelling fowl and plant life, including birds of prey.   The teeming life in this habitat is a paradox in this busy urban corridor which, in addition to the football stadium, is surrounded by freeways, power lines, an airport, a landfill, and all forms of human encroachment....