By Brahm Resnik | 12News Phoenix
PHOENIX — Where’s the water coming from?
That’s one of several unanswered questions about the City of Scottsdale’s proposed agreement to restore water service to its unincorporated neighbor to the north, the Rio Verde Foothills.
The answers could be forthcoming at the Scottsdale City Council meeting at 5 p.m. Tuesday, where a vote of the proposed agreement is expected.
What would the proposal do?
The city would buy and treat water that it would sell to Maricopa County.
The county would deliver the water to Rio Verde Foothills residents.
The county would also have to work on banning development in the foothills.
The council’s approval of the proposal would trigger negotiations with Maricopa County on a final agreement.
Scottsdale’s Jan. 1 shutoff of a standpipe delivering water to the desert subdivision has become a national symbol of Arizona’s failure to manage the megadrought.
Rio Verde Foothills has no water infrastructure; homeowners use wells or relied on the nearby Scottsdale standpipe.
The proposed solution to the shutoff represents a rare coming together of governments at four levels – city, county, state and legislative – to deal with a potential public health crisis.
Ortega’s proposed water sources both say ‘no’
First-term Mayor David Ortega has offered two responses to “Where’s the water coming from?” to supply Rio Verde Foothills. Neither answer has stood up to scrutiny.
On this weekend’s “Sunday Square Off,” Ortega said the city would purchase water from the Gila River Indian Community, which has an existing water contract with Scottsdale.
In response to a question from 12News, the Gila River tribe said it would not provide any water to Scottsdale.
