Rio Verde Community Association and Rio Verde Country Club are urging residents and community stakeholders to sign a petition and write the Arizona Corporation Commission (ACC) stating opposition to construction of a water standpipe within the Verde Communities.

RVCA President Kevin Waring and Country Club President Jay Brown both signed off on a letter dated Dec. 19 and circulated to residents in Rio Verde.

The petition that is circulating and will be sent to the ACC states:

“We, the undersigned residents and stakeholders of Rio Verde, oppose the construction of a standpipe or any other facility within the existing EPCOR Water Arizona’s Rio Verde water district to supply water to Rio Verde Foothills residents, a separate and distinct community from Rio Verde. Specifically:

“We oppose any action that could diminish or jeopardize the present or future physical or legal water supply to the Rio Verde community. Rio Verde Utilities and EPCOR each have promised long term water security and no diminution of water supply for our Rio Verde community.

“We oppose any new standpipe that will increase commercial traffic within Rio Verde. Large tanker trucks hauling water daily on local streets from sunrise to sunset (and possibly later) would be noisy and dangerous and would negatively affect the quality of life for local residents.

“We oppose any imposition, through rates on Rio Verde residents, of any share of the capital or operating costs EPCOR incurs to solve the problem of delivering water to the Rio Verde Foothills.”

Rio Verde Foothills is the unincorporated area that lies west of the Verde golf communities between 172nd Street and 136th Street (roughly the City of Scottsdale boundary). Many residents in this area receive water via tanker haulers who get water from a standpipe supplied by the City of Scottsdale. About a year ago the city announced that as part of its drought emergency contingency plan it would no longer supply water to the standpipe used by the water haulers. That supply is due to be terminated as of this Saturday, Dec. 31.

Citizens in the area attempted to form a water district but that effort was rejected by the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors.

EPCOR Water USA, a private company that serves the Verde golf communities and other areas of Arizona including Fountain Hills, stepped up to take the lead in finding a solution to the Foothills water situation. The company has proposed long-term as well as short-term options to keep the water running to the area. One option to provide additional water to the City of Scottsdale via existing rights to keep the standpipe operating for water haulers. At this point the Scottsdale City council appears split on this option with the mayor definitively opposed.

Other options proposed by EPCOR impact the Verde Communities as noted by the officials’ communication. One of those options “would not require permission from a third party, but instead involve connecting a newly constructed standpipe to Rio Verde Utilities’ distribution system. Using an existing distribution system might avoid the need to construct a separate storage tank, but building a standpipe in the Rio Verde Utilities area would necessitate equipping an existing well with new arsenic removal facilities and replacing aged water main sections that are currently incapable of handling the additional flows. As with prior options, EPCOR would bring new water to the Rio System and replenish gallon for gallon any water pumped from this well. EPCOR has not identified a site for where this standpipe and well might be located.

The letter from Waring and Brown also urges residents to write to the ACC expressing concerns about the water situation. Emails can be sent to efiling.azcc.gov/online-services/utilities-public-comment-external. The messages should refer to docket #W-01303A-22-0264, referring to the case for EPCOR Water Arizona, Inc.

The public hearing for the case is scheduled to begin with public comment on Monday, Jan. 23, at 10 a.m. in person or by phone.