Arizona Corporation Commission (ACC) Commissioner Nick Myers (R) sent a letter to the city of Scottsdale and utility company EPCOR, inquiring what the two entities are doing to agree on how to provide water to the unincorporated Rio Verde Foothills (RVF) area.
“The Commission has a constitutional duty to establish ‘just and reasonable rates’ for the customers of the public service corporations it regulates. Therefore, the Commission must always evaluate the cost effectiveness of proposals under its consideration,” said Myers, “That is why as I continue to evaluate EPCOR’s application to provide standpipe water service, I want to make sure more cost-effective options have been properly explored.”
Most residents of the RVF community are entering month four of not having stable access to water. Residents hauled water to their homes from Scottsdale’s water supply until January 2023, when the city cut off non-residents from hauling its water in compliance with its drought management plan. EPCOR has stood up to potentially provide the community with permanent water.
In December, a representative of EPCOR sent the ACC a letter outlining four potential plans to provide water to the RVF area from least to most expensive. The first plan would involve EPCOR delivering water to Scottsdale, who would then run it through their system so RVF members could haul it. EPCOR would pay Scottsdale to use its system, and RVF residents would pay EPCOR for the water. The second plan would be relatively the same, except EPCOR would produce a new standpipe connected to Scottsdale’s systems, where people would haul water. Both of these plans would require the city’s cooperation to succeed.
If neither of those options worked, the next idea was to set up a new standpipe attached to a preexisting well in RVF. EPCOR would replenish the well to ensure a consistent supply, but this plan would likely cost $6 million. The most expensive plan would see EPCOR creating a new well in RVF with its own standpipe, but it could cost upwards of $140 million based on estimations of construction and distribution.
However, a March 13th report from ACC Utility Staff shared that progress on creating one of the cheaper plans may not pan out. The report stated that, as of it being written, “it is Staff’s understanding that Scottsdale has not offered to enter into any agreements with EPCOR for use of Scottsdale’s standpipe or system.” Myers’s new letter inquires about any discussion between the two entities regarding this issue and the two cheapest options requiring collaboration. He asked for the results of any discussions to be shared and, if there have not been any, what the reason for this is.
“My hope is that all stakeholders involved, especially elected officials, would want the most cost-effective solution possible,” Myers wrote.
A hearing to discuss EPCOR’s application is scheduled for April 10th. He requested the information be delivered to him by Friday.
A spokesperson for Scottsdale told The Arizona Sun Times via email that the city has received this letter and is preparing a response.
In the meantime, the State Legislature is still trying to come up with an immediate solution to get the RVF community water. State Representative Alexander Kolodin (R-Scottsdale) is working on a solution involving creating a standpipe district with which the city could make a temporary agreement. As reported by ABC 15, one RVF resident expects to pay $1,700 a month to haul water from a different city this summer if nothing is done.
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Neil Jones is a reporter for The Arizona Sun Times and The Star News Network. Follow Neil on Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Nick Myers” by Nick Myers. Background Photo “Maricopa County Courthouse” by Zeb Micelli. CC0 1.0.
