It was hard to tell you were in the middle of a major, metropolitan city in the Riparian Preserve of Water Ranch in Gilbert. It was about as wild as you could get. A small, wading bird waddled past me like I wasn't even there. I saw great egrets everywhere. Over 200 species of birds are possible here.

The seven preserve lakes recharge the local aquifer with processed gray-water. This water is naturally filtered throught the sediment as it works it's way down into the water table. Several other Arizona cities also have aquifer recharging programs.