One suburb located in Arizona has slammed the nearby city of Scottsdale, Arizona, in the wake of the city choosing to shut off its water supply.
Recently, Rio Verde Foothills has had its source of water shut down by the city of Scottsdale earlier this month. Scottsdale has had a contract to sell water to around 500 to 700 total residences in the area, but it has now claimed that it cannot afford to spare the water and needs to keep said water for those that live within the limits of its own city.
This past Thursday, residents initiated a lawsuit against Scottsdale to attempt to get it to start sending in water once again to the tiny community.
The suit spotlights that EPCOR, a water utility business, wants to create a new water facility in order to give water out to Rio Verde. Until this new plan is greenlit and the facility to carry it out is set up and sending the much-needed water to Rio Verde, EPCOR is seeking to “provide Central Arizona Project (CAP) water at no cost to Scottsdale to replace” the water being sent out to the Rio Verde area, as well as offering up funds to Scottsdale for the treatment of the water. Scottsdale could then offer up water to Rio Verde at no cost to its resources and finances.
Scottsdale has expressed that it would not work with any outside businesses in order to offer water to the Rio Verde Foothills.
“Rio Verde is a separate community governed by Maricopa County, not the City of Scottsdale. Scottsdale has warned and advised that it is not responsible for Rio Verde for many years, especially given the requirements of the City’s mandated drought plan,” expressed the city in a release made public on Monday. “The city remains firm in that position, and confident it is on the right side of the law.”
Residents of Rio Verde are attempting to reduce their water use by taking laundry over to friends’ houses and even utilizing rainwater to flush the toilets. They are not taking nearly as many showers and are making use of paper plates over china, explained a report from the New York Times.
Water used to be sent out via trucks to houses in Rio Verde that did not have wells, but now these same trucks have to make much longer trips in order to bring water to the region, which has led to a massive upcharge for those getting the water.
“It’s a cautionary tale for home buyers,” exclaimed the director of the Kyl Center for Water Policy at Arizona State University, Sarah Porter. “We can’t just protect every single person who buys a parcel and builds a home. There isn’t enough money or water.”