The Scottsdale City Council approved an intergovernmental agreement (IGA) at its Sept. 5 meeting that could have water deliveries going to Rio Verde Foothills residents within weeks. The council unanimously approved the IGA with the Rio Verde Foothills Standpipe District (RVFSD) that will allow the district to resume tanker deliveries to customers in the Foothills area by reactivating the standpipe at the Pima Road fill station.

The RVFSD was created through a law passed by the Arizona Legislature in June. The District negotiated an agreement with the city to use water processed through existing facilities and delivered to the standpipe location.

“Scottsdale’s own water resources will not be used,” a statement released by the Scottsdale Office of Communication said. “The rate charged to the (RVFSD) is set so that costs are fully recovered on behalf of the Scottsdale residents who pay for the infrastructure and operation of the city’s water system.”

Details provided by the city’s communications office state that the RVFSD will acquire a water supply that can be provided to Scottsdale at one of the city’s surface water treatment facilities. These are not water resources of the City of Scottsdale.

The city is to treat the water and make it available at the Pima Road standpipe where haulers contracted by the district will be able to provide water for up to 750 customers living in the Rio Verde Foothills area.

The city’s agreement is with the RVFSD only. The District may contract with other parties as needed to supply water to Foothills customers. The agreement is to sunset as of Dec. 31, 2025.

More pertinent to the residents of the Verde golf communities and Trilogy at Verde River, EPCOR Water, which serves these communities, is reportedly in discussions with Salt River Project for additional water rights from the Verde River. There are no details of these discussions available. EPCOR currently has an application with the Arizona Corporation Commission (ACC) for a certificate of necessity and need (CC&N) to provide water to a water standpipe to be developed as a permanent solution for the Rio Verde Foothills water situation. The discussions with SRP would ensure adequate water to provide for the Foothills without diminishing the water rights of the Rio Verde Utilities District operated by EPCOR to supply the Verde Communities with water.

The ACC has yet to rule on the CC&N application and while there appears to be no objection to that application, there are a number of entities with concerns about other issues surrounding EPCOR’s effort to provide water. Among those would be the location of the new standpipe development. Residents of Rio Verde, Tonto Verde and Trilogy at Verde River want the standpipe to be located west of roughly 174th Street so tanker traffic is not using roads within the Verde Communities.

Also, EPCOR is asking the ACC to consolidate the standpipe operations for the Foothills with the company’s Sonoran District, which includes the Rio Verde, Fountain Hills and other utility operations of EPCOR. This consolidation could influence the water rates of entities unrelated to the Foothills issues. EPCOR wants assurances that rates will be adequate to cover costs of the standpipe development. Other water customers in EPCOR’s Sonoran District have been and are expected to continue opposing the ACC giving the company authority to use the consolidated rate base related to standpipe development without a normal rate hearing.

The ACC has not yet set a date to continue its hearings and reach an ultimate decision related to the EPCOR CC&N application. EPCOR has said it may take two to three years to complete development of a permanent standpipe to serve the Foothills.