There is a new bill at the governor's desk that would help solve the ongoing water woes in the Rio Verde Foothills community.
The city of Scottsdale is now calling on Governor Katie Hobbs to veto it.
"I don't know if it will be life, I don't know if it will be livestock but, there will be a loss," said Christy Jackman, who lives in Rio Verde Foothills.
This is a real concern for many Rio Verde Foothills residents as they have now been without a main water source for months. Residents were cut off by Scottsdale on January 1 for being outside city boundaries.
"We need a solution that is simple, that is easy to implement, and is fast," said Jackman.
Jackman told ABC15 they petitioned for that nearly a month ago and it resulted in HB2441, which is currently on the governor's desk awaiting her signature.
It would essentially require large cities, in this case, Scottsdale, to execute an agreement with a third party for up to three years to treat and transport water to a standpipe and allow water to be hauled to homes outside the city's water service area under certain provisions.
"We hope they can resolve their problem but not make it ours," said Scottsdale Mayor David Ortega.
Mayor Ortega spoke with ABC15 about the signed letter the city council sent to Governor Hobbs asking her to veto the bill.
"First of all, it forces Scottsdale to be a utility for non-residents, outside Scottsdale boundaries, in the unincorporated area. That would violate our drought management plan," said Mayor Ortega. "The bill explicitly says Scottsdale is not a water utility under this bill."
Rio Verde foothills resident Larry Wolff sent his own letter to the governor, countering every point the city is trying to make.
"There's nothing in their drought management plan that stops them from doing this," said Wolff.
Scottsdale also pointed out that this legislation doesn't address what they describe as the root cause: wildcat subdivisions. That loophole allows residential developers to build without being required to prove an assured water supply for the next 100 years.
"Bad people always find ways to find loopholes in the system but, tying it to the needs of the community today — solving that wildcat issue — is unfair," said Jeff Schwartz, a resident of Scottsdale.
Schwartz said he's also looking out for those living in Rio Verde Foothills.
Governor Hobbs now has just a few days to make a decision on the bill.
