Parched from p 16 lution for water in Rio Verde Foothills. Hundreds of residents have signed a peti- tion to join the district, but opponents are pushing for alternatives with less govern- ment authority such as a rural water coop- erative, and want the county to deny a new water district. Amy Wolff, a 16-year resident of the area, had her well collapse due to shoddy workmanship years ago, so she and her husband, Larry, rely on hauled water. “We just don’t need a taxing district, there are so many unknowns you’re essen- tially signing a blank contract,” Wolff said. Those who oppose the district want to see the board of supervisors deny the dis- trict proposal and want to pursue a rural cooperative and nonprofit structure. DELIVERY AVAILABLE Box and mattress VALLEY-WIDE Bunk-Bed-Frame with mattress 2pc sectional 5pc dinette Can’t Change the Law Republican State Senator John Kavanagh of Fountain Hills did attend the commu- nity meeting and cautioned the crowd that “everyone’s watching” what happens with water in that area. Similar issues are play- ing out in the West Valley and “all over” Pinal County, he noted. Kavanagh offered residents that he would propose to change any laws they need — except the one folks asked for — to curb wildcat development. “I’m pretty good at passing laws...but I could never get that passed. Over half the legislators are rural and then you’ve got others influenced by builders and devel- opers. We’ve been trying to pass that for decades and you can’t get it done,” he said. Ultimately, the decision will be up to the Maricopa County Board of Supervi- sors, which keeps passing the buck to the state on water issues. “I can help with legal advice, I can 4pc bedroom set 5 drawer chest CALL FOR PRICING mon-THU: 9AM - 7PM fri: 9AM - 7PM sat: 9AM - 6PM sun: 10AM - 5PM 3330 w Van Buren St • Phoenix • 602-272-0034 (NE Corner of 35th Ave & Van Buren) *prices are subject 18 WESTSIDEFURNITURE.COM CHEST draft a bill for you, but I can’t resolve this because I’m not at the level of govern- ment,” Kavanagh said. “Unfortunately, I have no idea what they are doing because I cannot get a word into the new supervisor Galvan. I had a phone appointment with him two weeks ago and he canceled. He never called.” But Galvan claims that the pair were able to connect and have discussed the is- sue since then. On January 28, after New Times spoke with him, Galvan proposed two new com- munity meetings. He wants to meet with each side of the water district debate sepa- rately on February 4 at the same ranch in Rio Verde Foothills. Meantime, Maricopa County officials claim they can’t deny building permits to subdivisions with fewer than six homes and are not able to deny any proposed homes for lack of water. Essentially, they cannot curb the underlying issue which contributes to the sprawl of homes with- out water. But Maricopa County isn’t even keep- ing track of how many single-family home permits have been approved without ac- cess to water, officials claim it’s not their job. “Maricopa County does not track lot splits because it does not regulate lot splits,” said Fields Moseley, Maricopa County communications director, in a re- cent email. “By statute, they are unregu- lated land divisions. The County also does not provide water service, so wells and hauled water are common here and throughout Arizona, as are lot splits.” Meanwhile, The Arizona Department of Water Resources claims it can’t get tan- gled up in any zoning for subdivisions with fewer than six parcels. The agency is al- ready busy making sure new master- planned developments are truthful about having access to 100 years of water, state officials said. But don’t suggest that the state law has a “loophole” enabling wildcat housing de- velopments, Tom Buschatzke director of “WE HAVE NO LEGAL AUTHORITY TO STOP OUTSIDE [WATER PUMPERS]. WE’VE NEVER HAD TO TELL ANYBODY YOU CAN’T TAKE A SHOWER TODAY, OR YOU CAN’T TURN ON YOUR TAP ALTOGETHER.” —TOM BUSCHATZKE, DIRECTOR, ARIZONA DEPARTMENT OF WATER RESOURCES the Arizona Department of Water Re- sources said. That’s just the way the law was written and approved by Arizona rep- resentatives, he said. “I do not believe that this is this depart- ment’s responsibility,” Buschatzke said about Rio Verde Foothills, except beyond offering expertise, insight, and resources to interpret water law. The state has a hard enough time when there’s a dispute over water well owner- ship and cannot even dictate to cities what the drought management plan must be, he said. “Counties don’t have a lot of authority (about water) other than flood control,” he said. “We focus our efforts on the regulated subdivisions and we are swamped, from a workload perspective, just trying to main- tain the assured water supply both inside the active management areas.” The department hired three new work- ers just to handle such a task several months ago. “We have no legal authority to stop out- side [water pumpers],” he said, adding that it’s not all bad. “We’ve never had to tell anybody you can’t take a shower today you, or you can’t turn on your tap altogether.” Bidding Wars for Land John Angelo, a longtime Arizona Realtor with two decades of experience, has sold homes in Rio Verde Foothills. Angelo said it’s often up to the agent to fully disclose the water situation. 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