Rio Verde Foothills residents are getting some support from state lawmakers in their efforts to acquire and maintain a sustainable water supply.

The Foothills is the unincorporated area west of 172nd Street to the Scottsdale city line. It is not part of the Verde golf communities that include Rio Verde, Tonto Verde and Trilogy at Verde River.

The City of Scottsdale had allowed water haulers to use city water from a standpipe to supply homes in the Foothills with water. The city determined it needed to discontinue the practice of allowing water to go to residents outside the city limits as part of its drought mitigation plan. Scottsdale officials announced early in 2022 the city would discontinue the standpipe service effective Jan. 1, 2023.

Since the water service was cut off residents in the area have been scrambling to find an alternative. A town hall meeting of Foothills residents was held Jan. 29 at Reigning Grace Ranch and was attended by state legislators to hear comments from the citizens. Scottsdale Mayor David Ortega, who has been adamantly opposed to continuing the water supply, did not attend.

State Representative Alexander Kodolin (R-D3) and State Senator John Kavanagh (R-D3) were both on hand to talk about the situation.

Maricopa County, the Arizona Corporation Commission (ACC) and EPCOR Water, a public utility, have all been involved in the process trying resolve the water issue long term.

Maricopa County Supervisors turned down a request from residents to implement a local water district to supply water. County officials deemed that would be an impractical and ineffective method of resolving the issue specific to the area.

EPCOR has applied to the ACC to supply water to the area, a process its officials say could take two to three years to get into operation. The water company did propose an alternative to allow water to continue to flow through the Scottsdale standpipe with no impact on the city’s water rights or supply. Scottsdale rejected that proposal.

The residents have sued both Maricopa County and the City of Scottsdale, and the ACC has put its hearing process for the EPCOR application on hold until the courts are finished.

The legislature is, however, moving forward with legislative proposals to get the water flowing. A bill introduced by Kavanagh (SB1093) would require the city to continue providing water through the standpipe to any customers who had previously received it. It applies to residents who live outside the city (or town) service area who do not have a sufficient supply of water. It would apply as follows: up to 750 households, the city (town) had previously supplied water to the residents, there is no other source of water available within 10 miles, the city would be reimbursed the costs of providing and delivering the water, and the standpipe does not reduce the amount of water available to citizens within the city (town) water service area.

Against the backdrop of all this going on the Rio Verde Community Association (RVCA) is concerned Rio Verde being conflated with Foothills is leaving the wrong impression and impacting the marketability of the Verde Communities through what has become a national news story. A statement released to members last week by the presidents of the RVCA and Rio Verde Country Club states that:

“We…are dismayed at the recent stream of media stories about the Rio Verde Foothills’ unfortunate water crisis that confuse their situation with our Rio Verde Community. We are deeply committed to shielding our community’s reputation, our marketability and our home values from this confusion.

“In response, we prepared (a) corrective press release. Troon (the manager for Rio Verde Country Club) has used its local and national distribution network to broadcast the press release, particularly to the sources of erroneous stories.

“We have also put in place a ‘rapid response’ process to reply quickly to mistaken news stories as they occur. (Residents) can help this effort. Please forward copies of, or links to, any media stories that confuse Rio Verde Foothills with the Rio Verde Community to RVCA Executive Director Doris Findling at doris@rioverdhoa.org, or Country Club General Manager Anthony Paino at clubconnect@rioverdecc.com.”