By Jen Fifield, Joshua Bowling | Arizona Republic
At a remote ranch north of the McDowell Mountains this winter, hundreds gathered for a meeting in a sandy horse corral on a colder than expected morning.
As strong gusts of wind whipped across the open land, they zipped up their jackets and complained to their friends. But the cold and wind they could deal with. What they didn’t know what to do about was water.
The residents live in Rio Verde Foothills, an unincorporated community of about 2,000 homes in the northwest Valley. It’s outside city or town limits — beyond the reach of any municipal water pipes.
