By Sasha Hupka | Arizona Republic (abridged)
At long last, Rio Verde Foothills has an operating standpipe — and the desert community’s water crisis has come to a close.
Epcor Utilities Inc. will open the unincorporated neighborhood’s new water hauling station on New Year’s Day. That’s the deadline on the community’s temporary water agreement with Scottsdale, which was designed to serve as a stopgap until the completion of the standpipe project.
The announcement comes three years after the area found itself cut off from the city’s water supply, sparking a monthslong water crisis that drew national headlines. The short-term agreement between city officials and community representatives brought immediate relief, but still left residents anxiously awaiting the standpipe, which promised a permanent solution to their water woes.
Supply chain disruptions threatened to throw that project off track earlier this year. Epcor sought to extend the community’s temporary water contract, but city officials declined to consider it.
In the end, the company made its end-of-the-year deadline. Its new standpipe will operate from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily. Senior Vice President Shawn Bradford called it a “prideful moment.”
“As a community, we all pulled together and solved the problem,” he said. “I think everyone will collectively breathe a sigh of relief when this thing is collectively behind us.”
What’s the final bill for the community’s water woes?
There’s still one more chapter that awaits the community in its water saga.
Its standpipe was approved by state utility regulators on a few conditions. One was that fees and rates would be adjusted for all customers as the full costs of providing water to the community became more clear.
That means the ultimate cost of water is wholly unknown — and with the standpipe completed, it’s time to find out what’s on the bill.
Bradford said Epcor had not yet completed accounting for all of the capital costs of the project. He said he expects the company will go to the Arizona Corporation Commission in the coming months to initiate a rate case for the community.
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