To fix Rio Verde Foothills water woes, county back off
On Friday, the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors voted down the intergovernmental agreement to deliver water to the unincorporated residents in Rio Verde Foothills. It’s the second time in nine months that the supervisors has voted against a water solution for these residents. I am deeply disappointed.
In Scottsdale, we know that water management prevents water wars and policies must be free of politics. For these reasons, the City Council directed the city manager and attorneys to develop an intergovernmental agreement with counterparts at Maricopa County. These negotiations also involved legislators and staff and the Arizona Attorney General’s Office.
Scottsdale’s involvement was to assist Maricopa County in securing a regulated water supply for its residents in Rio Verde Foothills. Something these residents have never had and is increasingly important as wells run dry in the area.
Within a week of the draft IGA’s completion, the Scottsdale City Council unanimously approved it allowing flexibility to best serve all parties. Council email in-boxes and City Hall were filled with RVF residents supporting the plan.
Now RVF residents are once again without hope. The county rejected the IGA with a demand that Scottsdale enter into a contract with EPCOR, a private company, to provide water for Rio Verde Foothills residents. This places legal responsibility and liability for RVF water service on Scottsdale and its taxpayers.
Scottsdale is a city government, not a utility. Intergovernmental agreements, by definition, are between governments. IGAs are the mechanism by which one municipality can share resources with residents from another municipality.
The draft IGA between Maricopa County and Scottsdale would have provided treated water to RVF residents, upheld Scottsdale’s drought management plan, and met the city’s obligations to its residents. The framework is what matters, not the water source.
In its resolution, the supervisors explicitly require EPCOR-sourced water. What is unclear to me is why.
Had the Board of Supervisors approved the IGA, water could have flowed to existing residents quickly. Scottsdale is negotiating water allotment increases from existing sources. No new contracts to bid, no new infrastructure.
Rio Verde Foothills and Scottsdale residents are represented by Maricopa County Supervisor Tom Galvin. He should reconsider the IGA to best serve constituents on both sides of the border.