Rio Verde Foothills residents sue Scottsdale over water woes as pressure rises on city

Dozens of residents of the Rio Verde Foothills, an unincorporated community, filed a lawsuit Jan. 12 meant to force Scottsdale, Arizona, into helping the community temporarily secure a water supply after the city cut off residents Jan. 1.

The lawsuit, along with a new bill in the state legislature that would make the city liable for some costs incurred as a result of the shut-off, are the latest last-ditch attempts to pull back the community from disaster.

"The city of Scottsdale has placed plaintiffs and their families under an unconscionable amount of stress and anxiety by discontinuing their domestic water supply," the lawsuit reads. "The lack of fresh potable water for families to be able to bathe themselves or running water to flush their toilets is a well-known basic necessity."

They are also a sign of mounting pressure on Scottsdale over the community's water woes. Earlier that week, about 60 Rio Verde Foothills residents gathered at the city's Civic Center in an attempt to make officials hear their plea and come to the table. It came on the heels of a letter from state Rep. David Cook, R-Globe, who is also the primary sponsor of the new legislation targeting the city, House Bill 2411.

With no sign of a change of heart from Scottsdale leaders, Cook said it's time to up the ante.

"I can't wait and hope and pray that they'll come to their senses," he said. "I need to take action now and get these things moving, because if they don't, these are the alternatives that they could be facing. And I'm going to fight hard."

Rio Verde Foothills, a community that is near Scottsdale city limits but falls outside its boundaries as an unincorporated area of Maricopa County, has for years relied on Scottsdale to sell water to private haulers, who bring it to about 1,000 residents without working wells.

Since the shut-off, private haulers still can provide some water to the community through sources beyond Scottsdale. But those sources are unstable and can stop doing business with the haulers at any time. And the cost of water for residents has skyrocketed.

Potential solutions have been proposed, but none has come to fruition. Residents need two plans: a long-term solution and a short-term agreement to temporarily provide them with water as the permanent one is hashed out and shored up.

A proposal to create a water taxing district was defeated in August when the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors unanimously voted it down. Supervisor Tom Galvin, who represents the district encompassing Rio Verde Foothills, voted against the proposal after overseeing months of discussion and bickering between neighbors, citing concerns about the long-term viability of the district and its potential costs.

Instead, he favored a long-term agreement with private water utility Epcor. That solution is currently in the works, but since the company is regulated by the state, the plan first must go through the Arizona Corporation Commission.

And interim plans hinge on Scottsdale Mayor David Ortega, who has repeatedly called himself a "hard no" on helping Rio Verde residents, saying that water isn't "a compassion game."

To back that up, he's expressed concern over ongoing drought conditions on the Colorado River. He's also opposed allowing any water serving Rio Verde Foothills residents to flow through the city's water treatment plant and pipes, citing the impacts of water hauling trucks on Scottsdale roads and saying the city gave the county and Rio Verde Foothills residents ample notice that it wouldn't provide water or infrastructure forever.

But the lawsuit contends that allowing water from Epcor or other sources to flow to the community won't cost Scottsdale any money ― and it could help avoid a humanitarian crisis. Some residents with at-home tanks were in danger of running dry as early as this week, the suit alleges.

Scottsdale officials did not immediately comment on the lawsuit or Cook's legislation but wrote in a news release that the city remains "confident it is on the right side of the law."

Lawsuit asks judge to turn water back on

The lawsuit requests an injunction to make Scottsdale temporarily continue to provide water to haulers through the city's existing standpipe at Jomax and Pima roads, a few miles away from the community.

It contends that Rio Verde Foothills residents are in crisis and can’t afford to wait while the case is sorted out. Scottsdale, the lawsuit argues, won’t face any immediate harm if it isn’t allowed to cut off a service that it’s been providing to the community for the past 30 years.

Residents also say that Scottsdale should be forced to allow water to flow to Rio Verde Foothills as Epcor's application to serve the area is processed by the Corporation Commission and the company builds infrastructure to provide water to residents. That's expected to take several years.

The lawsuit cites an existing Arizona law that it says prohibits a city from cutting off water to outside communities once it begins providing it.

"Public policy does not allow Scottsdale to leave the Rio Verde community high and dry," the lawsuit reads.

It isn’t the first time that residents of the community have pleaded their case in court. Those who supported a special taxing district unsuccessfully sued Maricopa County in March, asking a judge to force the Board of Supervisors to vote immediately on the issue.

In October, they filed another legal action against the county appealing the supervisors’ vote against creating the district. That challenge is scheduled for a hearing in late January.

Bare-knuckled political boxing

Cook's bill would make any city providing water to nonresidents liable for fire damages, health problems and attorneys' fees if officials decide to turn off the taps.

The legislation, which applies to any municipality stopping water service on or after Jan. 1, 2023, also stipulates that a reduction or halt in water supply to nonresidents must be matched by cutbacks or end of water delivery to the mayor and city council members. The policy is directly targeted at Scottsdale, Cook said.

"To watch them treat other Arizonans in this manner ― it's just not right," he said.

The bill comes on the heels of a Jan. 6 letter that Cook addressed directly to Ortega asking for a meeting among various stakeholders. As of Jan. 13,Friday, Cook said, he hadn't received a response.

"Everybody on the list has responded to that letter, wanting to sit down and hammer out the solution and come to an agreement, except the city of Scottsdale," he said.

Ortega didn't comment directly on the lawsuit or Cook's proposed legislation but told The Republic that the two officials recently scheduled a meeting for Jan. 20 to discuss the issue. In response to the lawmaker's ongoing pushback, Ortega said Cook "sure has a dry sense of humor."

The legislation is partly a pressure tactic. But Cook believes it could have legs in the Legislature, noting that House Speaker Ben Toma signed on as a sponsor.

"I haven't talked to one Democrat or Republican that opposes it," Cook said.

He said the bill is likely to get amended as it goes through the lawmaking process. Still, Cook expects the bill could get to the Senate floor by the end of February. If passed, that means the final legislation could go into effect by summer, opening the possibility that Scottsdale could be retroactively penalized for the water shut-off.

Cook said he also hasn't ruled out adding an emergency clause to the bill. That would require a supermajority of the Legislature to pass the legislation but would eliminate the 90-day waiting period for new laws to take effect.

Part of the question is whether the legislation is enough to crack the stubborn city. If not, Cook's next piece of policy might be. He plans to introduce a bill that would strip $10 million in state shared revenue from Scottsdale and give it to the Arizona Department of Emergency and Military Affairs to address Rio Verde Foothills' water issue.

"I want a tank of no less than 50,000 gallons placed out there and water provided for fire protection and public consumption," Cook said. "So, in other words, if Scottsdale doesn't want to come to the table and help fix the problem that they have created themselves, then at the state level, we'll just take their money from them ... and we'll solve the problem for those residents and then work toward the long-term solution on our own."

Sasha Hupka covers Maricopa County, Pinal County and regional issues for The Arizona Republic. Do you live on unincorporated land and have a story to tell? Reach her at sasha.hupka@arizonarepublic.com. Follow her on Twitter: @SashaHupka.

Reach Sam at sam.kmack@arizonarepublic.com. Follow him on Twitter: @KmackSam.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Rio Verde Foothills residents sue Scottsdale over water woes