Heat wave causes water shortage in Cordes Lakes; delivery shut nightly
Residents in Cordes Lakes are experiencing a water shortage as a result of the extreme heat.
In response, officials temporarily are shutting off water for four hours each night.
According to Yavapai County Emergency Management, water in wells has not been able to keep up with demand in the area because of high temperatures gripping the state this week.
About 1,350 homes have been impacted as a result. Cordes Lakes is located north of Black Canyon City, near the junction of Interstate 17 and State Route 69.
“The main cause of this is simply the record heat that we’re having right now. The customer demand in the system has simply exceeded the capacity of the wells to produce water,” said Ray Jones, an engineering consultant at Aricor Water Solutions, one of Cordes Lakes Water Company’s contractors,
All of the water provided comes from groundwater wells.
According to a statement from Yavapai County Emergency Management, the water pumps that deliver water from the wells to homes are temporarily being shut down between 11 p.m. and 3 a.m. to allow the wells to replenish overnight.
“Water conservation by customers, water hauling and nightly planned systemwide shutdowns has stabilized the Cordes Lakes water system and allowed for an increase in storage levels from 36 percent of capacity to 58 percent of capacity,” the statement said.
The company is asking customers to limit water use inside the home and eliminate lawn watering outside. In addition, the company is also hauling in water from Prescott Valley to put into the water system, stabilizing the water levels in the wells to an extent.
Cordes Lakes is currently under a Stage 3 Water Curtailment and Jones said that he anticipates it will last for another week at least.
“Once we get some lower temperatures, particularly when the monsoon rains would come, the problem will very quickly subside at that point,” Jones said.
Last summer, the company did ask customers to lower water consumption, but did not have to cut off water at night.
To prevent another situation like this from happening again, Jones said the company is building another well in the area that should be completed by late 2017, early 2018.
“We’re in the process of preparing to file with the Corporation Commission for the authorization to go ahead and proceed with the construction of the well,” Jones said.
Jones said there are water bottles being distributed at the Mayer Fire Station for residents in need of relief.
Earlier this week, the White Mountain Apache Tribe in eastern Arizona declared a water emergency in Cibecue after pumps that deliver water from a storage tower to the community failed.