By J. Graber | Scottsdale Progress
After years of warnings it may happen someday, Scottsdale turned off the water at the stand pipe servicing the Rio Verde Foothills community of about 2,000 homes northeast of the city on Jan. 1.
Roughly 500 homes had been relying on the stand pipe for hauled water for all their needs while about another 200 homes relied on it to supplement their wells.
“My heart bleeds for this community,” said Karen Nabity, an area resident and champion of the here-to-date unsuccessful effort to create a non-contiguous domestic water improvement district. “Human nature is, ‘Oh, the city is not going to cut us off. Oh, if they do the county will take care of us.’ Well guess what, we’re here folks. We’ve been cut off and we have no solution for our homes.”
The group had tried to create a water district to purchase water from outside sources, treat it in the Scottsdale water system and provide water through the city owned stand pipe.
But the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously in August to not allow its creation, noting many residents opposed it on the grounds it would give too much power to too few people and that it wouldn’t serve everyone.
