To misquote a famous saying, \u201cEverybody talks about the water, but no one\u2019s doing anything about it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Though he vehemently disputes the second part, Cave Creek Mayor Robert Morris agrees with the first part of that tortured Twainism.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019d say 90% of the people are aware there\u2019s a major issue\u201d with water, he said.<\/p>\n
Indeed, Morris and some other key policy makers have been talking quite a bit about the water as of late. If he was around, Mark Twain might get a rueful chuckle out of the distant possibility that a town with a body of water in its name could run dry.<\/p>\n
With looming \u2014 though largely unknown \u2014 supply cuts from the town\u2019s main source, should Creekers be worried?<\/p>\n
\u201cI think they should be aware of their role in what\u2019s going on,\u201d Morris said.<\/p>\n
\u201cJust worrying about it is terribly ineffective,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
The action he wants: \u201cThe fact is, people are going to have to conserve water.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rejecting the \u201cnobody\u2019s doing anything about it\u201d phrase, Morris praises residents who are cutting back on water use, while noting the town itself is doing everything it can on the water front.<\/p>\n
Indeed, what might be called a \u201cgame changer\u201d is nearing the finish line.<\/p>\n
Morris eagerly awaits the completion of the Phoenix Interconnect Project \u2014 a water project with a price tag of nearly $20 million.<\/p>\n
And it\u2019s nearly done.<\/p>\n
The construction site is next to Lowe\u2019s, off Cave Creek Road just north of Carefree Highway.<\/p>\n
Remember sitting in traffic on Cave Creek Road south of Carefree Highway for lane-altering construction last year?<\/p>\n
That was the city of Phoenix piping portion of the connection.<\/p>\n
Asked if the project will be worth the petty aggravations for residents, Morris chuckled.<\/p>\n
\u201cOnly if they want to drink water,\u201d he quipped.<\/p>\n
The mayor then flipped a switch to serious-as-the-drought.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re talking minor delays for six months or a year \u2014 versus the fact this town doesn\u2019t exist without a water system,\u201d Morris growled.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe annoyances quite frankly are trivial compared to the reliability and security it gives.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat are you going to do if water is out for two weeks? This project was originally put in to address that issue.\u201d<\/p>\n
Beyond security<\/strong><\/p>\n According to a Foothills Focus story in April 2024, the interconnect project \u201cwill create a new potable water supply line to Cave Creek that is more reliable than the current single-pipeline system.\u201d<\/p>\n Morris told a Focus reporter the system was a crucial backup, as \u201cWe regularly have near misses. Our dedicated employees will sleep much better when the new facility is operational.\u201d<\/p>\n While originally envisioned as an alternate system for when one of the city\u2019s pumps goes out, Morris said the interconnect has become part of the solution to the town\u2019s water woes.<\/p>\n And the clock is ticking on an agreement Morris will tell you is crucial to the existence of Cave Creek.<\/p>\n Terry Goddard kicked off the Cave Creek Town Council Sept. 16 meeting with a chilling presentation.<\/p>\n Goddard is president of the Central Arizona Water Conservation District and overseer of the Central Arizona Project.<\/p>\n He provided an overview of the issues facing CAP in its negotiations with Arizona and other parties in the Colorado River Compact \u2014 a 1922 agreement regulating water distribution among seven states in the Southwest.\u00a0<\/p>\n The original agreement overestimated the amount of water that typically flowed through the river, resulting in shortages.\u00a0<\/p>\n With an ongoing drought in member states Wyoming, Colorado, Utah, Arizona, Nevada, California and New Mexico, the shortages have been exacerbated, Goddard said.<\/p>\n The clock is ticking, as the current agreement expires in 2027.<\/p>\n Goddard warned a lack of an agreement may result in a reduction of Colorado River deliverables through the CAP canal.\u00a0<\/p>\n According to projections, Cave Creek \u2014 which relies almost completely on CAP water \u2014 may have its yearly allocations reduced by 25-35%.<\/p>\n While some who have not been following the water situation may have been shocked, Morris was not even mildly surprised by Goddard\u2019s presentation.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have been working on this for some time,\u201d the mayor said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have teams, we have consultants working on potential outside sources, we\u2019ve contacted the governor, we\u2019ve contacted legislators \u2014 everyone is aware of what\u2019s going on.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe fact is, there\u2019s only one supply of water out there available for purchase.\u201d<\/p>\n According to the town\u2019s water department website, \u201cDrinking water for the Cave Creek Water System begins its journey at the Central Arizona Project Canal at Deer Valley Road in Phoenix.<\/p>\n \u201cRaw surface water is withdrawn from the canal and pumped approximately 12 miles through pipelines to our Water Treatment Plant on Basin Road. At this location, the raw surface water is filtered and treated \u2026\u201d<\/p>\n That\u2019s for the 2,500 connections in the Cave Creek system.<\/p>\n For another 1,800 users, \u201cDrinking water for the Desert Hills Water System begins its journey deep underground in aquifers.<\/p>\n \u201cGroundwater is withdrawn from the aquifers by three wells and pumped into steel water storage tanks, disinfected \u2026 and then delivered to our customers.\u201d<\/p>\n The Desert Hills Water System is \u201cdependent on a decreasing groundwater supply and has no other water supplies,\u201d the town\u2019s website notes. \u201c… the Cave Creek Water System supplements the water supply to the Desert Hills area with the town’s treated CAP water which is transferred through an interconnect.\u201d<\/p>\n That\u2019s the existing connection, not to be confused with the interconnect-in-progress.<\/p>\n The new interconnect system, Morris said, \u201copens up all the possibilities.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re finishing the construction project along Cave Creek Road that connects us to Phoenix water treatment,\u201d the mayor said.<\/p>\n \u201cIn a matter of months, we\u2019ll be sending Cave Creek CAP water to Phoenix; they will treat it for us.\u201d<\/p>\n Phoenix will then send the treated, drinking-quality water back to Cave Creek for distribution to its users.<\/p>\n The system can pump in up to 1.4 million gallons of water per day.\u00a0<\/p>\n The new interconnect will not directly raise rates, Morris said.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s already built into rates. We borrowed money to keep our current rates low and spread the cost over 30 years.\u201d<\/p>\n But, he warns, water rates are likely to increase due to other factors.<\/p>\n CAP cut coming?<\/strong><\/p>\n The new system is a key piece to the ongoing water puzzle, but does not in itself solve a potential problem: dwindling supply.<\/p>\n \u201cCave Creek receives nearly 90% of its water from the Colorado River via the CAP, which makes it critical that, as town leaders, we are highly engaged and speak up,\u201d as Morris puts it.<\/p>\n Where to find the water to make up for likely Colorado River cuts?<\/p>\n \u201cWe have a dozen brainstorms we\u2019re working on,\u201d the mayor said.<\/p>\n At a Sept. 23 joint town council and utilities advisory meeting, a presentation outlined the following options \u201cto add to or extend the water resources\u201d:<\/p>\n \u2022 Water Conservation-Public Education\/Outreach (to be discussed in separate Agenda items).<\/p>\n \u2022 Water exchanges that would provide physical access to the Long-Term Storage Credits that the town has generated by storing unused CAP water and the Arizona Water Banking Authority water credits available to the town.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u2022 Re-equipping existing Cave Creek wells.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u2022 Obtain new groundwater from the Harquahala Groundwater basin that can be conveyed to the Town via the CAP canal.<\/p>\n \u2022 Bartlett Dam New storage project. The town has requested 1,000 acre feet of storage, which will provide an average annual water supply of 286 acre feet. This water is not expected to be available till 2035.<\/p>\n Like other town officials, Morris is confident of one thing.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s going to be less (water) supplies to Arizona going forward. The political process is outside of our control \u2014 and we\u2019re running up against a deadline,\u201d Morris said.<\/p>\n The subject is nothing new to him, as Morris served on the Cave Creek Water Advisory Committee for six years before running for elected office. He was elected for two terms on Town Council before Cave Creek residents elected him mayor in 2022.<\/p>\n As each week goes by, the town moves closer to a new reality \u2014 and an uncertain one, at that.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re 15 months away from what could be a (water) cut of 25%-plus\u00a0 \u2014 we don\u2019t know how much is going to be cut,\u201d Morris said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re running up against a deadline and we don\u2019t know how to prepare for it. The leadership in the country and state makes it difficult to provide certainty \u2026<\/p>\n \u201cCertainty is something that is nonexistent in this issue.\u201d<\/p>\n Even in a worst-case-scenario, Cave Creek will not suddenly go dry.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have over a year\u2019s supply of water banked,\u201d Morris said. \u201cAnd we are reactivating wells that were insufficient to supply town needs before.<\/p>\n \u201cThrough our own efforts we have several years of supplies ready to come into action \u2014 it all depends on how much the cut\u2019s going to be. It\u2019s impossible to plan.\u201d<\/p>\n In the short term, the new Phoenix connection will be \u201cenough water to supply our winter time needs,\u201d Morris said.<\/p>\n \u201cThe challenge for the town, and people need to realize this, is the town must reduce outdoor water usage.\u201d<\/p>\n The mayor of Cave Creek\u2019s final thoughts on the matter:<\/p>\n \u201cThere is going to be a shortage.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re covered for the short term.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re working on getting this taken care of for the long term.<\/p>\n \u201cPeople are going to have to use less outdoor water.<\/p>\n \u201cThe water is going to be more expensive.\u201d<\/p>\n