Gloria Rebecca Gomez, Miller, AZ
Premiered: June 20, 2023 9:54 AM
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Residents of the Rio Verde Foothills, which have had water supply cut off for months, will have legislative reprieve after Gov. Katie Hobbs signed a bill Monday to restore access to water. Given the.
Senate Bill 1432 requires the city of Scottsdale, which is less than an hour outside of North Phoenix, to be supplied with water for three years through a newly created standpipe district. The district will facilitate water transportation to up to 750 households. Scottsdale has been supplying water through standpipes for more than a decade, and despite not being legally responsible for suburban water services, Scottsdale does not allow private carriers or residents to collect water. had allowed. But the city of Scottsdale cut off access to the Rio Verde Foothills in January ahead of water consumption cuts on the Colorado River that city officials expected would affect water supplies to residents in the state. bottom.
Some 500 homes (about 1,000 residents) in this small suburb depend on water delivered from Scottsdale-operated standpipes, and unreliable local wells and long drives to other standpipes , faced a bleak future. Lee Harris-Avril and her husband collected rainwater at her friend’s house to fill Gatorade bottles. But at a press conference on the morning of June 19 asking Hobbes to sign SB 1432, the couple warned they had less than three months of water left.
Amanda Monizee shares a well with four neighbors, but the water it produces is just below the legal limit for acceptable arsenic levels, draining wells throughout the area. So she worries about the long-term prospects.
“Some people say, ‘I can sell my house,’ but no one is going to buy my house without water,” she told The Mirror.
The Rio Verde Foothills, also known as Wildcat Subdivisions, are unincorporated communities created by a legal loophole that allowed developers to sell homes without guaranteeing residents a water future. This suburb lies outside the city limits, well beyond the city’s water pipes and responsibilities, and although Maricopa County oversees the area, it cannot act as a water utility. not legally permitted.
Attempts to close the loophole were thwarted by skeptical Republicans. But the final version directs the Arizona Department of Water Resources to submit a report on how developers of wildcat plots can secure long-term water supplies. Lawmakers on Monday acknowledged that SB1432 is not a perfect solution, but vowed to continue efforts to address wildcat encroachments and long-term access to water in Grand Canyon State.
Republican Senator John Cavanagh of Fountain Hills said, “We’ll all be back next year in hopes of meaningful reform being passed.”
Rep. Alexander Corodin (R-Scottsdale), who drafted the amendments that make up the Rio Verde Foothills solution, added, “You can’t keep kicking the road forever.” “The state of water policy in this state is unsustainable and, if left unchecked, will stunt our growth and fundamentally undermine our way of life.”
The bill passed Congress with an emergency clause and majority support, and is expected to come into force within a month or two after the standpipe district is completed. The district will consist of a five-member committee, with one commissioner each appointed by the Speaker of the State House of Representatives, the Speaker of the Senate, the Governor, the Arizona Real Estate Director, and the State Water Resources Director. a piece.
Carmela Rizzo, who has lived in the Rio Verde foothills for the past 30 years, attended a news conference Monday with fellow residents seeking a solution, holding a hand-made placard urging Hobbes to sign the bill. She acknowledged that Scottsdale Mayor David Ortega was responsible for protecting the future of voters, but she wanted the future of herself and his neighbors to be protected by the state.
“My heart goes out to those who are struggling with using rainwater to flush their toilets,” she said. “When you buy a house, no one negotiates it.”
This story was originally arizona mirror and reprinted with permission.
