PHOENIX — Maricopa County Supervisor Thomas Galvin of District 2 said he's not sold on Scottsdale's plan to end the Rio Verde Foothills water crisis.
The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors met in executive session Thursday to get legal advice about any forthcoming agreement. So far, the City of Scottsdale has not proposed an official agreement but passed a resolution describing what the city would agree to.
About 500 homes in Rio Verde Foothills, north of Scottsdale, have been without a reliable source of water for eight weeks since Scottsdale cut them off. Those homes are not inside the city limits and Scottsdale said it needs to conserve its water in the face of a record-breaking megadrought.
After the meeting, Galvin said he still has questions that need to be addressed.
"Where the water is coming from is my number one priority, my number one question," he said.
The Scottsdale City Council adopted a resolution outlining its conditions for agreeing to a new water agreement. One of those conditions was that Scottsdale would have to find a third-party water source.
No source of water has been identified as of yet.
Galvin had already proposed a water utility company called EPCOR as a source of the water, taking the county out of the deal entirely. But Scottsdale refused to do a deal with a private company.
"The only thing I'm grateful for is they finally acknowledged that they have to be part of the solution," Galvin said.
Galvin said Scottsdale has to be part of the deal because they already have the infrastructure in place.
Rio Verde Foothills homes are primarily served by water haulers that, until Jan. 1, filled up at a Scottsdale standpipe. That standpipe was shut off on New Year's Day. Another standpipe would not be able to be built for years.
EPCOR is currently in the process of applying to be a permanent water supplier to Rio Verde Foothills, but that approval is a long way off. Even if it is approved, EPCOR told the Arizona Corporation Commission it would take three years to build the infrastructure and drill the wells it needs.
However, if EPCOR bought water from an outside source, and Scottsdale agreed to process it for drinking and make it available at the standpipe, water could be available much faster.
"My solution is better because it's the cheapest, the most affordable, the quickest, and the most expedient," Galvin said.
Last week, Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes issued an opinion saying that the Rio Verde Foothills situation qualifies as an emergency. Ander under those conditions, Maricopa County could effectively act as a water company for the area.
Scottsdale's proposal calls for the city to obtain the water. Scottsdale would process it and make it available at the standpipe. The county would then contract with water haulers, who would in turn contract with homeowners.
The Board of Supervisors took no action Thursday. Any proposed agreement would have to be voted on and approved by both the board and Scottsdale City Council.
WATER WARS
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