PHOENIX — Where does water come from?

This is one of several unanswered questions about the proposed agreement by the City of Scottsdale to restore water service to its unincorporated neighbor, the Rio Verde Foothills, to the north.

The answer is Scottsdale City Council at 5 p.m. Tuesdaywhere the vote on the proposed agreement is expected.

what do the suggestions do?

• The city purchases and processes the water it sells to Maricopa County.
• The county will deliver water to residents of the Rio Verde Foothills.
• The county should also work on banning development in hilly areas.

Once Congress approves the proposal, negotiations will begin on a final agreement with Maricopa County.

Scottsdale’s January 1 shutdown of the standpipe that supplies water to the desert has become a symbol of Arizona’s failure to cope with a massive drought.

There is no water infrastructure in the Rio Verde foothills. Homeowners used wells or relied on nearby Scottsdale standpipes.

The proposed solution to the shutdown represents the rarity of four levels of government coming together to address a potential public health crisis: city, county, state and legislative branch.

Both Ortega’s Proposed Water Sources Say “No”

The first mayor, David Ortega, offered two answers to “Where does the water come from?” It supplies the Rio Verde foothills. Neither answer stood up to scrutiny.

On “Sunday Square Off” this weekend, the city of Ortega said it will purchase water from the Gila River Indian community, which has a water contract with Scottsdale.

When asked by 12News, the Gila River tribe said they would not provide water to Scottsdale.

When asked to explain his remarks, Ortega told 12News that he made a mistake in a text message. He intended to say that the Colorado River Indian Tribe (CRIT) was the donor.

However, Colorado River tribal leaders say they, like the Gila River Indian community, cannot supply water to Scottsdale.

Jason Rhodes, spokesman for Colorado River Tribes chairman Amelia Flores, said, “No one in Scottsdale has approached the tribe, and even if there was an agreement on the price, they would not deliver such water.” I don’t have a system yet.

In a text message on Monday, Ortega said:

One Foothills resident said Ortega shouldn’t dictate waterfront locations.

“Mayor Ortega’s message is very disruptive to the area,” said Meredith DeAngelis, whose family has lived in the Rio Verde foothills for 11 years.

“First, we hear a stern ‘no’… ‘I’m not going to allow you to continue to receive water from us,'” she said of Ortega.

“Now we hear, ‘Okay, if you can negotiate and give us water, we’ll let you get it, but we’ll identify the source.'” , a source who says he’s getting water says “no.” “

Residents of the Rio Verde Foothills Are Suspicious

“You pretty much say ‘I’m open to anything,’ but I see some serious concerns,” DeAngelis said.

According to her, the last few weeks have been “really stressful.”

“I’m just trying to make sure every drop counts.”

Her family relies on water drawn from Apache Junction, about 50 miles away, at about three times the price they once paid.

Rio Verde foothills residents’ concerns about the proposal range from a lack of long-term support for development to suspicions about Ortega’s motives.

“Are you sure this water is actually affordable? And who determines the cost and source of that water?” DeAngelis said.

The proposed deal would also require Scottsdale to sell to Maricopa County more than 2.5 times the water needed by the Rio Verde foothills.

“It’s like profiting from people in need,” said Christy Jackman, owner of the boarding ranch.

She wondered what Scottsdale would do with the surplus water and cash from the sale.

Jackman relies on well water but takes care of his neighbors.

“I’ve almost run out of water to flush the toilet, so I’ve got people very excited about staying hydrated this week,” she said.

Both DeAngelis and Jackman discuss why the new Scottsdale parcel was built in the south Rio Verde Foothills, given the mayor’s concern about the impact of a massive drought on the city’s water supply when the city closed the Rio Verde Foothills. I wondered if it was crashing into the Hills.

“Why do we keep adding new regions and not take care of the existing people here?” DeAngelis said.

Did EPCOR’s alternative solution stop because of bias?

Back in the fall, three months before Scottsdale cut off water to the Rio Verde foothills on January 1, the city’s water company’s executive director had a “treatment and transport” plan submitted by EPCOR presented to city council members. shared with

A short-term solution from EPCOR, a private water company, is similar to the plan voted on by the city council on Tuesday, except EPCOR had prepared the water supply.

However, the plan was never put to a city council vote. Ortega objected.

He ripped aldermen backing the plan as “the insiders who are pushing EPCOR to use the Scottsdale water system.”

EPCOR is already working on a long-term solution to provide water service to the Rio Verde Foothills in about three years. The plan must be approved by the Arizona Corporate Commission.

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