Arizona suburb sues the city of Scottsdale for cutting off its water supply

An Arizona suburb has filed a lawsuit against the city of Scottsdale after the city cut off the community from its municipal water supply amid extreme drought conditions and declining water levels in the Colorado River.

in trialIn a filing Thursday in Maricopa County Superior Court, residents of the unincorporated community of the Rio Verde foothills are seeking an injunction against Scottsdale to force the city to resume water services.

The controversy comes after the federal government last year announced unprecedented water cuts to Arizona due to water shortages along the Colorado River. The Biden administration has urged seven states to reduce water use by 2 to 4 million acre-feet, a third of the river’s average flow, as drought conditions worsen in the Colorado River Basin.

The river’s decline has driven the loss of three-quarters of the water from the country’s largest reservoirs. Last week, Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs unveiled a report Showing that there isn’t enough groundwater supply in the desert west of Phoenix to go ahead with plans to build homes in the area.

Scottsdale warned the Rio Verde foothills more than a year ago that the city’s water supply would be cut as it faces projections of a historic drought and declining reservoir levels in the western U.S. Scottsdale said it The focus should be on conserving water for its residents and not continuing to sell water to about 500 households in the Rio Verde foothills.

Earlier this month, hundreds of homes outside Scottsdale no longer had access to city water, leaving residents with no reliable source of water.

Residents in the Rio Verde foothills stated that Scottsdale is in a position to accept delivery of water from EPCOR, a water utility company, and treat the water for domestic use at EPCOR’s expense so that residents will have water over a period of 24 to 36 months. Ho. According to the lawsuit, the company needs to obtain necessary approvals to do so.

However, Scottsdale has stated that it will not work with any outside company to provide water to residents of the Rio Verde Foothills, arguing that it is legally bound to provide water service to the Rio Verde Foothills. No because the city is beyond the municipal limits of Scottsdale.

scottsdale, in a statement released Monday, said the Rio Verde Foothills is a separate community governed by Maricopa County and the city’s action does not prevent residents of the Rio Verde Foothills from purchasing water from other sources.

“Scottsdale cautions and advises that it is not responsible for the Rio Verde for several years, especially given the requirements of the city’s mandated drought plan,” the statement read. “The City stands firm in that position, and is confident it is on the right side of the law.”