
Water Hauling from Scottsdale has ceased!
The Rio Verde Foothills now has to rely on a very limited water supply, most being hauled in from much farther away.
FEEL FREE TO EMAIL US AT INFO@GOTWATERRVF.COM
The Rio Verde Foothills now has to rely on a very limited water supply, most being hauled in from much farther away.
FEEL FREE TO EMAIL US AT INFO@GOTWATERRVF.COM
"We, the undersigned property owners within the Rio Verde Foothills, are in support of the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors negotiating with the City of Scottsdale on an Intergovernmental Agreement to create an immediate interim water solution for the Rio Verde Foothills."
MARCH 21ST - MEETING AGENDA - CLICK HERE
GUEST SPEAKERS: REPRESENTATIVE KOLODIN and ROBERT MITCHELL, TIFFANY & BOSCO P.A.
For now, the focus needs to be on the immediate need for water and to do what we can, together, to have water for our families, ranches, rescues and our community as a whole.
LINK: MARCH 21ST, 2023 MEETING - VIDEO
LINK: MARCH 14TH, 2023 MEETING - VIDEO
LINK: MARCH 14th, 2023 MEETING - IN THE NEWS
To sign up to get notified about future meetings, the progress of the interim water solution and talks about possible litigation, click the link at the top of the page.
BACKGROUND
Over 500 properties in the Rio Verde Foothills rely on hauled water for their homes. This is for a number of reasons: wells have gone dry, cost, new wells drilled have hit nothing, etc. The City of Scottsdale, which has supplied the majority of hauled water for over 40 years, has officially ceased to areas outside of the City's boundaries at the end of 2022 per this Press Release.
NO CURRENT WATER SOLUTION
As of today, there is NO SOLUTION in place to provide an obligated source of water for RVF residents in 2023 nor a long-term water supply for hauling to homes.
Our community currently uses approximately 48,000,000 gallons of water annually.
Haulers currently have access to possibly 9,000,000 from Global Water who has wells in RVF.
Water haulers can go to areas farther away, like Apache Junction, however this is affecting the cost of water. For example, a 6,000 gallon truck will take a 2 hour round trip, it will take 2 hours to fill the truck at the only fill station in Apache Junction (AZ Water Co.) and additional time to
unload the water. Almost 5 hours....FOR ONE LOAD OF WATER.
The water situation for Arizona is now critical:
"If you look out two years, Lake Powell could go so low that it's essentially dry," Tom Buschatzke, who runs Arizona's water department said. "What that would mean if we hit that, is no water in the river through the Grand Canyon." Watch the full story HERE
For a MAP of the Rio Verde Foothills area located East of North Scottsdale, Arizona click HERE. and go to the bottom of the page.
4 CENTS A GALLON
MONTHLY COST
2,000 GALLONS - $80
4,000 GALLONS - $160
6,000 GALLONS - $240
10,000 GALLONS - $400
20,000 GALLONS - $800
30,000 GALLONS - $1,200
11 CENTS A GALLON
MONTHLY/YEARLY COST
2,000 Gallons, $220 $2,640/yr
Increase: $140/mo $1,680/yr
4,000 Gallons, $440/mo $5,280/yr
Increase: $280/mo $3,360/yr
6,000 Gallons - $660 $7,920/yr
Increase: $420/mo $5,040/yr
10,000 Gallons, $1,100 $13,200/yr
Increase: $600/mo. $7,200/yr
20,000 Gallons, $2,200 $26,500/yr
Increase: $1,200/mo $14,400/yr
30,000 Gallons $3,300 $39,600/yr
Increase: $2,200/mo. $26,400/yr
THE FOLLOWING SOLUTION WAS TURNED DOWN BY THE MARICOPA COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS!
AS OF 8/31/2022, WE HAVE NO WATER SOLUTION FOR JANUARY 1, 2023!!
The only solution presented as of August 31ST, 2022 is the petition to form a Domestic Water Improvement District (District/DWID) so the Water District can secure a long-term legally dedicated
THE FOLLOWING SOLUTION WAS TURNED DOWN BY THE MARICOPA COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS!
AS OF 8/31/2022, WE HAVE NO WATER SOLUTION FOR JANUARY 1, 2023!!
The only solution presented as of August 31ST, 2022 is the petition to form a Domestic Water Improvement District (District/DWID) so the Water District can secure a long-term legally dedicated source of water for its members and non-members by purchasing more water than what the entire Rio Verde Foothills currently uses.
The District plan was to:
The reason the Water District has the ability to import a long-term legally dedicated outside source of water is due strictly to the District's ability to purchase Harquahala Valley water and Scottsdale's ability to enter an Intergovernmental Agreement, for a fee, to receive the District's water purchase via the Central Arizona Project canals, process the water and initially make the water available at the City's standpipe until the District's fill station is built and connected to retrieve the District's water.
EPCOR submitted an application on 10/13/2022 to provide water via a standpipe service to the Rio Verde Foothills. This application is for a long-term solution and does NOT include a solution for 1/1/2023. You can view the filed application, current responses and the calendar for future hearings with the Arizona Corporation Commission HERE
EPCOR submitted an application on 10/13/2022 to provide water via a standpipe service to the Rio Verde Foothills. This application is for a long-term solution and does NOT include a solution for 1/1/2023. You can view the filed application, current responses and the calendar for future hearings with the Arizona Corporation Commission HERE .
The Hearing starts on April 10th, 2023.
OVERVIEW OF KEY DETAILS FROM EPCOR'S APPLICATION with Page # noted:
The staff at the Arizona Corporation Commission has issued their recommendations.
These are recommendations that will be considered by Judge Haines before he makes his recommendation. It will then be up to the Commissioners to decide the final ruling and how each item will be addressed.
To view the calendar for the upcoming hearings, CLICK HERE.
Since residents of RVF have been left with less that 40% of the needed water for hauling, an Attorney General Opinion, requested by Rep. Cook, provided that the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors has the authority to temporarily supply water to county residents to preserve public health and sanitation and that the County may enter an in
Since residents of RVF have been left with less that 40% of the needed water for hauling, an Attorney General Opinion, requested by Rep. Cook, provided that the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors has the authority to temporarily supply water to county residents to preserve public health and sanitation and that the County may enter an intergovernmental agreement with the City of Scottsdale or by contracting with a private company.
Within 7 days, the City of Scottsdale created an Agreement that Mayor Ortega and the Council unanimously approved an agreement which they said needed to be worked on but was a starting point, took the politicians out of it by having the City staff work with County staff to iron out the details so water would once again be available at the Scottsdale fill station until a permanent solution is determined. NOTE: The water supply used would not impact Scottsdale's water supply for residents and would not cost Scottsdale citizens any money.
The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors turned down the agreement and refused to work with the City of Scottsdale on a solution. Instead, the BoS said that the City should work with EPCOR to provide the County's constituents water. However, Supervisor Galvin admitted that the BoS had no legal authority to compel the City to work with EPCOR.
WHERE DOES THIS LEAVE RVF?
WITH NO DEDICATED INTERIM WATER SUPPLY!
____________________________
COPIES FROM Attorney General Kris Mayes Opinion #23-001:
Can a county board of supervisors enter into a short-term agreement on an emergency basis with a government entity or private company to supply water to county residents who lost their previous water source and are awaiting the construction of a new permanent water system?
Yes, a county board of supervisors has the authority to temporarily supply water to county residents to preserve public health and sanitation under A.R.S. § 11–251(17), (31). A county may do so through an intergovernmental agreement with a public agency with whom it shares a joint shared power, A.R.S. § 11–952, or by contracting with a private company, A.R.S. § 11–201(A)(3).
NOTICE:
It is IMPORTANT to understand a water hauler is a company that has a permit to deliver water & is NOT THE SOURCE OF WATER.
SIGN UP FOR NOTIFICATION ABOUT THE CRITICAL WATER SITUATION IN THE RIO VERDE FOOTHILLS