In 2009, to enhance the educational efforts of the Phoenix Water Services Department, the Phoenix Office of Arts and Culture’s Public Art Program commissioned D. Bryon Darby to explore the story of water. Over the next two years, Darby worked closely with the City Water Services Department, the Salt River Project, and the Office of Arts and Culture to create a portfolio of photographic work that stands as a document for future generations.

As a conceptual base, Darby focused his pursuits on tracing the theoretical path of the Phoenix water supply from Central Phoenix back through the SRP and CAP canals to the Salt, Verde, and Colorado rivers while a sub-narrative reveals the mechanical and chemical process of water treatment and production. The resulting body of work is a poetic look at the modern practice and history of water delivery and processing in the desert.