The number of possible short-term solutions to bring water to the Rio Verde Foothills community is running dangerously low.

A Maricopa County Superior Court judge on January 20 tried to force water back into Scottsdale on a standpipe that once served the community while a lawsuit filed by a local resident was resolved. Attempts by local residents in the department were repulsed.

Mayor David Ortega also said he met with Scottsdale MP Dave Cook the same day, but no solution was forthcoming.

But you may see a ray of light on the horizon.

The Scottsdale City Council held an executive session on January 24th to discuss the issue and issued the following press release: Resident of Scottsdale. “

Maricopa County supervisors and state legislators say Ortega’s reluctance to help a community of about 2,200 people northeast of Scottsdale is hurting the city and Arizona. The closure will affect about 700 households that either rely entirely on pumped water or use it to supplement their wells.

A group of about 200 residents pooled their funds to hire a lawyer and file a lawsuit over the January 1 standpipe closure.

They look to state laws that: The service, once established, shall remain so long as the city or town owns or controls such utility.”

However, Judge Joan M. Sinclair ruled that the city was not functioning as a public utility and that the homeowners “failed to provide evidence of irreparable damage.”

“There is no evidence that the plaintiff cannot obtain water from any source at all,” she wrote.

And Sinclair didn’t hold out much hope for the whole lawsuit.

“The court does not believe that given the language of the statute above, plaintiffs have shown a high likelihood of success on the merits,” Sinclair wrote. “Water loss from Scottsdale to people living outside the city limits is difficult for Scottsdale.

“Given the current drought conditions in the region, the loss of water would be devastating for anyone. It cannot be accessed through a pipe.”

Christy Jackman, the leader of the group that filed the lawsuit, said the homeowners plan to appeal the ruling.

She also said she met with an unnamed state legislator on January 24 and promised to introduce legislation to counter Sinclair’s decision.

“This is a judge’s decision and because she doesn’t want to deal with it, all rural communities in Arizona are at risk,” Jackman said.

Scottsdale turned off its water taps as part of the first phase of a drought management plan enacted after federal officials cut water quotas for Arizona’s Colorado River.

Cook, an advocate for the Rio Verde Foothills cause, proposed a new twist on an old solution to the problem. Cook signed a contract with the Gila River Indian Tribe to provide 100 acre feet of water per year for long-term community service. -term can identify a solution.

Scottsdale doesn’t pay for water, so the cost of treating the water can be passed on to residents of the Rio Verde Foothills.

Cook said it was the perfect solution, especially since Scottsdale already buys water from the tribe, so no additional infrastructure is needed.

But that solution still requires the city to treat the water and make it accessible by standpipes.

Cook said the talks were fruitful and that both sides were “just where they need to be.”

“You can talk about meetings in two different ways. How did it start and how did it end?” Cook said. “It was very difficult and rough at first, but we ended up in exactly the place we needed… Now it’s time to get four votes[in the city council]to support the plan and we are here. where to go from

Cook said he instructed staff to reach out to city council members to explain his proposal.

Ortega, however, repeated the exact words from the city’s address.

“Scottsdale taxpayers, Scottsdale voters have invested in the best water infrastructure in the country. “Especially when drought-induced laws are meticulously adhered to.

“For counties outside of Scottsdale city limits, we have water.

Cook actually brought county supervisor Thomas Galvin and state senator John Kavanagh to the meeting, but when they got there, Ortega said, starting with Cook, once I only agreed to meet each of them individually for 20 minutes.

When that part of the meeting got long, everyone else left before seeing the mayor.

Meanwhile, local legislators say Ortega’s unwillingness to get upset over the issue is damaging the city and state’s reputation.

“Scottsdale has received negative national attention for cutting off access to water to the Rio Verde Foothills community. Galvin, who represents both Rio Verde Foothills and Scottsdale, said:

“It paints the Valley in a poor light just before it hosts a major sporting event,” he said. It’s a problem when one person continues to tarnish his city and its wonderful inhabitants in the face of a scheme.”

Galvin was also a guest on KTAR’s popular afternoon talk show Gaydos & Chad two weeks ago.

Galvin even called Ortega “sadistic”.

Cook said, “It’s definitely hurting not only Scottsdale’s reputation, but the reputation of Arizona as a whole. The people of Arizona are kind, caring, and welcoming.” Gov. Ducey has been saying for eight years that Arizona is open for business Come to our state, Arizona Now, after eight years of ‘for business’ talk, suddenly, What does this look like after you hear, ‘If you come here, by the way, you could be treated badly like this’?”

Linda Milhaven, who fought to resolve this issue, agreed to leave the Council on a term earlier this year.

“We told them to find another source of water. I’ll pay you the amount and then I’ll sell it to the Rio Verde foothills,” sounds like a win-win for everyone.

“There’s no Scottsdale water. No cost to Scottsdale people. We make a small profit from it,” Milhaven said. “So I don’t want to consider things that I think are embarrassing for Scottsdale. Seeing an article on the front page of the New York Times saying Arizona is running out of water is not only embarrassing for Scottsdale, but it’s also an issue for Arizona. I think it’s a national embarrassment for us.”

But Ortega disagreed with that assessment.

“On the contrary, Scottsdale residents, businesses and voters say it is my duty and right to protect taxpayer investments and control of our water utilities,” Ortega said. We abide by the rule of law and are responsible for securing, cleaning and delivering water to residents, businesses, hospitals, churches and schools within our Scottsdale jurisdiction.

“The Maricopa County government has authority. Therefore, responsibility for unincorporated territories is not Scottsdale taxpayers.”

EPCOR’s short-term solution was turned down by city officials for several reasons, including the fact that it is not a government agency.

EPCOR also agreed to a long-term solution that included providing treated water from its own standpipe. However, building the infrastructure to do so is expected to take two to three years.

The Arizona Corporation Commission held a public hearing on January 23 to register residents’ views on long-term solutions.

Residents told the committee they ate out of paper plates, showered at the gym and did their laundry at family homes. returned to the argument against the creation of discontinuous domestic water improvement districts.

About 600 residents of the area have proposed the creation of a water district to draw water from the Hulkahala Aquifer, treat it at the Scottsdale Waterworks, and distribute it through the city’s standpipes.

Mayor Jim Thompson hinted in a letter to the city council that it would be acceptable to the city, but the issue has severely divided the community.

Ultimately, the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors voted in August not to allow the district to be created, largely based on Galvin’s recommendations.

At the time, Galvin publicly called on Scottsdale not to turn off the water, resulting in a public war of words between him and Ortega.

On January 25, Cook sent a letter to the Arizona Business Commission requesting an expedited application for a long-term solution from EPCOR.

Ortega treats the people of the Rio Verde foothills worse than animals, Cook said.

“In this state, if you walk out of a Harkins theater or grocery store and see a pet or dog trapped in a car with the window rolled up, you can legally break the window of that car. Pet. doesn’t treat pets this way and you shouldn’t treat an Arizonan this way.”