AVONDALE, Ariz. — West Valley cities continue to be under voluntary water cutbacks as Arizona Corporation Commissioner Anna Tovar is seeking the water company's explanation for why it has put its customers in that situation.
Liberty Utilities notified customers earlier this week in Avondale, Glendale, Goodyear and Litchfield Park that Stage 2 restrictions from their revised curtailment plan tariff, which calls for customers to voluntarily reduce their water usage by half.
Tovar opened an investigation into Liberty Utilities last year following water pressure complaints from customers.
Tovar said the company had previously expressed they'd be taking steps to try not to need to ask customers to cut back.
To move to the stage 2 restrictions, the amended plan requires the company to meet specific benchmarks, including, that the "company's water storage or well production be less than 80 percent of capacity for at least 48 hours."
In addition, the company also has to identify specific issues that "create a reasonable belief the company will be unable to meet anticipated water demand on a sustained basis."
Now, Tovar is asking why the Stage 2 restrictions are necessary.
"There isn't any other private water company in the state of Arizona that has this issue," Tovar said. "So there is something that is happening that is not right, whether they don't have enough water and they're telling us they do."
A Liberty Utilities spokesperson denied 12News' request for an interview on the subject. In a written statement, the spokesperson blamed the hot summer and high demand times for reservoirs' difficulty to replenish.
"With the high demand last week continuing through the weekend, Liberty Litchfield Park's reservoirs were unable to replenish quickly enough," The spokesperson said in part of the statement. "This voluntary conservation ask is pursuant to our tariff and will help us protect our water supply amidst the increased demand."
The City of Goodyear confirmed to 12News it is supplying Liberty Utilities with one million gallons of water per day. That interconnect was activated on Tuesday, the same day Liberty Utilities notified customers of the Stage 2 voluntary water cutbacks.
"This can't be a permanent fix for this company," Tovar said. "You know, there might be a time where the City of Goodyear says, you know, 'I'm sorry we don't have enough for our residents, so we're not going to be able to provide, provide the service to you.'"
It's gallons used that Mike Hyman was surprised to see on his bill last fall.
A leak in his irrigation system led him to using much more water than he typically does in a month, Hyman said.
Making Hyman wonder why the company didn't alert him to a change in his usage before billing.
"I don't know why a company the size of Liberty can't send out that same kind of notice. I would have been able to reduce consumption immediately," Hyman said.
Hyman also asked the ACC why they don't require Liberty to alert customers to change in usage as well.
"If I've used a year's worth of water in a month and if it's hundreds or 1000s of times across Arizona, that's a lot of wasted water," Hyman said. "And we wouldn't have to be in restricted watering conditions like we are right now."
At latest check of ACC records, Liberty Utilities has not responded to Tovar's letter filed Wednesday.
A Liberty Utilities spokesperson told 12News the reservoirs are working towards replenishing. However, the next stage of the curtailment plan tariff, Stage 3, would require residents to conserve water. That stage demands that customers stop outside watering, except for watering livestock.
"That's something that I worry about and you know that ultimately keeps me up at night," Tovar said. "This is why I'm trying to be as proactive as possible and making sure that I get an actual answer of why we're here at Stage 2 so that we don't go to a Stage 3."
The Arizona Corporation Commission issued the following statement:
The Arizona Corporation Commission is aware of Liberty Utilities (Litchfield Park Water and Sewer) Corp. customers’ concerns regarding the implementation of Stage 2 of the utility’s Curtailment Plan Tariff. The Commission is actively monitoring the situation and working with Liberty Utilities on this matter. Our Utilities Division staff has been meeting regularly with the Company through the summer to ensure that Liberty Utilities remains in compliance with the Commission’s Decision and Rules to avoid a repeat of what occurred last summer.
Liberty Utilities notified the Commission on July 8, 2024, that it planned to activate Stage 2 on July 9, 2024, of the updated Curtailment Plan, which allows the utility to ask its customers to VOLUNTARILY conserve water in response to increased water demand and extreme temperatures. The Company also called on the interconnection with the City of Goodyear to supplement their own water supplies, which is part of the plan that the Commission approved in February. It is the Commission’s understanding that this is a temporary measure. Liberty Utilities is making progress in improving its water system, addressing previous low water pressure incidents and has shared with the Commission its plans to invest in new infrastructure to increase its water system supply in the coming months.
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