By AZFamily
PHOENIX (3TV/CBS 5) — The fate of one community’s water rights now lies in the hands of Gov. Katie Hobbs after the passing of HB 2441. If signed into law, it would force the City of Scottsdale to provide drinking water to residents of the Rio Verde Foothills community.
Late Monday, the Arizona House and Senate gave the bill a final passage as residents of Rio Verde Foothills, an unincorporated area north of Scottsdale, remain desperate for a solution after the city of Scottsdale cut the community off to try and conserve water for their own needs during a drought. The law comes weeks after two petitions were proposed, one requiring an act by Arizona lawmakers and the other forcing the hand between the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors and the City of Scottsdale to work together to come up with the solution.
The law is specifically worded to deal with the growing East Valley water crisis. It requires “a city or town that provides water service in a county with a population of more than 500,000 persons to provide water for at least three years by using a standpipe” for water hauling to residences outside the city or town’s water service area. Provisions include that “the number of homes served does not exceed 750, and the residences are in an area that is an unincorporated community within the county and adjacent to the city or town.”
