Arizona has the best copper deposits in the United States, and produces more of the red metal than most countries except Chile and Peru. All mining needs water for mining and processing and copper mining is no exception. Arizona is mostly desert and, therefore, short of water. This scarcity has been exacerbated because of the rapid growth of population in the state and the resulting enhanced demands for the resource. This has also attracted the attention of the general public to the use of water for mining. Most water is used in flotation beneficiation, smelting, and electro-refining. Small amounts are used for domestic purposes (drinking, bathing, and such). It is also used for wetting roads to suppress dust. Factors affecting dust suppression include annual precipitation, natural vegetation, land morphology, and other factors. The amount of water used for wetting may vary between 0% and 15% of the total water used at the mine, depending on conditions. The water source may be from underground aquifers, Central Arizona (CAP), surface streams, precipitation, or a combination.