RIO VERDE, Ariz. — "We're screwed," John Hornewer told three members of the Arizona Corporation Commission.
There was no other way to say it, he said.
Hornewer is one of the water haulers for Rio Verde Foothills, and Monday morning, he was notified one of his suppliers was cutting him off.
There's no guaranteed source of water for Rio Verde Foothills, and the long-term plan is up for Corporation Commission consideration.
The City of Scottsdale cut off roughly 500 homes in Rio Verde Foothills from city water on New Year's Day. Those homes are not in the city limits, and Scottsdale said it wants to conserve its own water.
Hornewer filled up with that water. Now it's a four-hour round trip to fill a water truck when it used to be an hour or less. He can still get water, but not enough to serve his customers. And there's no guarantee the other sources of water won't cut him off too.
“I honestly don't know what the solution is. I really don't," Hornewer told the commissioners. "Whatever it is, I support it.”
Hornewer was testifying along with dozens of other homeowners about a proposed plan for long-term water service.
A Canadian water utility, EPCOR, has told the Corporation Commission that it can provide water to Rio Verde Foothills, but it took three years to build the infrastructure. EPCOR also wants other considerations to make it worthwhile.
Not everyone in Rio Verde Foothills wants EPCOR's plan. Not everyone in the area wanted the other option, which was a domestic water improvement district. The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors voted down that option.
But, almost a month after the cut-off, the homeowners mostly agreed on one thing: they need something.
“It feels like we're just going for hope here, and hope isn't what we need," John Carroll said. Carroll built his retirement home in Rio Verde Foothills. Now he's considering living in his RV if he can't refill his home's water tank.
“We are past emergency, and we're headed toward crisis," Wendy Walker said.
Walker is one of the people behind a lawsuit that would have forced Scottsdale to turn the water back on or at least force it to work with Rio Verde Foothills to provide water.
Over the weekend, Walker's lawsuit failed. She said she was planning an appeal.
Meanwhile, even if the Corporation Commission approves EPCOR's plan, the construction will take an estimated three years. That's three years the Rio Verde homeowners said they don't have.
“We won't make it," John Hornewer said. "We will not survive three years.”
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