Hundreds of Arizona families will run out of water by year’s end as wells run dry, NBC News reports.
Residents of Rio Verde Foothills near Scottsdale have battled for years to resolve a looming water crisis but have been unsuccessful as the deadline to halt their water deliveries nears.
“It’s going to be really ugly and terrible for our homeowners and landowners,” resident Karen Nabity told NBC News. “Some of us will borrow water from a friend’s well, others will have to pay a water hauler from far away.”
The rural community does not have its own water system and most residents get water from private wells on their property. More than 500 homeowners rely entirely on truck haulers to deliver water from a standpipe in Scottsdale.
But Scottsdale last year limited its water supply to its city residents as of January, banning trucks from exporting its water.
Bigger crisis:
Scottsdale Water said the decision was part of a greater contingency plan to reduce consumption of water from the Colorado river.
Scottsdale residents have been urged to reduce their water use.
Maricopa County officials say they cannot fix the problem because they are not water providers.
Some residents tried to create their own water improvement district but the county Board of Supervisors voted down their petition over concerns about building a new water delivery system.
Search for fix:
Some residents worry they will have to pay higher costs to have water shipped from locations at least 60 miles away.
Epcor Utilities, a Canadian water company, filed an application to supply the region with water but the project still has to be approved and building the pipeline could take two to three years.
