Cave Creek water staff lay out contingency plans as possible Colorado River cuts loom

Town water staff told the Cave Creek Water Advisory Committee on April 22 that federal projections this summer could trigger substantial Colorado River reductions and outlined a range of contingency measures, budget impacts and infrastructure steps the town is pursuing.

A town water official said the Bureau of Reclamation's forthcoming 24‑month projection will set available Colorado River supplies through 2027 and that a recent federal environmental impact statement has prompted discussion of large cuts. "They're pointing out that Arizona was junior on the Compact," the official said, noting that estimates of potential reductions have ranged widely and that the state and town have submitted objections to aspects of the federal analysis.

To bolster near‑term supplies the official described several "bridge solutions": long‑term storage credits (the town has approximately 3,000 acre‑feet stored), negotiated exchange agreements with cities such as Peoria and Surprise to access credits, and market purchases of water resources. The official said the town is finalizing agreements that would allow use of storage held elsewhere and that such exchanges carry costs and operational tradeoffs.

Staff also updated the committee on a new interconnect with the City of Phoenix north of Carefree Highway that will allow treated Phoenix water deliveries into Cave Creek. "The new Phoenix interconnect should be up and operational in the next few months," the official said, calling the link a major reliability improvement because it provides a backup if the town’s CAP pipeline or treatment plant is offline.

Committee members discussed the town’s ongoing IFB (invitation for bidders) process exploring sale of utility assets. Staff said the town previously solicited bids for Desert Hills and had bidders hold proposals; officials are weighing whether to proceed with a sale given capital needs, the cost of securing additional water resources (staff cited $12,000,000 budgeted last year for water purchases) and the town’s relatively small customer base of roughly 4,500 water accounts.

Staff reviewed metering and billing issues: about 61% of the town’s meters currently report hourly data via the advanced metering infrastructure, and the town plans to add a new collector site to improve coverage in Desert Hills. Staff warned that some older meters and early Neptune radios require replacement and that a conversion project will continue into next year.

On water quality, staff said one Desert Hills well is above the arsenic threshold cited in the meeting (reported concentrations roughly 12–14 compared with a 10‑unit standard discussed at the meeting) and that a wellhead treatment system could cost roughly $2,000,000. The town is evaluating blending and a second connection between systems to mitigate impacts on Desert Hills customers.

Budget and rate planning also featured heavily. Staff explained enterprise fund structures (wastewater, Cave Creek water, Desert Hills) and said the town faces rising CAP water and electrical costs; the committee discussed tiered rates, a new lower tier for indoor users and possible surcharges tied to drought stages to help fund purchases and enforcement. "If we go to a stage 4 condition…we can ask not only but hire people to cut usage," the official said, describing enforcement and the fiscal tradeoffs of drought surcharges.

Committee members asked about cybersecurity; staff said critical control systems (SCADA) are on separate networks protected by firewalls and VPN access, and the town will conduct a formal risk assessment. The meeting closed after scheduling discussion and a motion to adjourn.

The committee will continue work on rate design, capital priorities and the IFB process at a future meeting.