LITCHFIELD PARK, AZ — City leaders are weighing in on the water pressure issues in Litchfield Park and parts of Goodyear north of Interstate 10.
This summer, for some residents, it was hard to get water and continue their daily routines.
“I know many residents here have lost plants,” said Litchfield City Manager Matthew Williams. “They’ve lost trees. They’ve lost landscaping.”
Williams even experienced the issues at his home.
“We’ve had low water pressure in my home, so much so that it’s difficult to run several things at one time,” said Williams. “For example, to shower and wash clothes is hard.”
ABC15 started reporting on these water pressure issues back in August, continuing our reporting into September.
The private company that is providing the water to the area is Liberty Utilities.
“There’s a lot of years of experience, of history here with the City and with Liberty with frequent issues that come up every few years,” said Williams.
The city manager said the issues have spanned from sewage to poor water pressure.
Williams said to his knowledge the pressure problems had not been as bad as they were this summer.
After ABC15’s reporting, Arizona Corporation Commissioner Anna Tovar launched an investigation into Liberty.
Residents have continued filing complaints against Liberty with the ACC this week.
Those filings include some from residents at a retirement community known as La Loma Village. Sun Health, who owns the community, told ABC15 that water pressure issues are still preventing residents from moving into one of their new buildings.
The utility company has continued to blame the hot, dry weather for the problems.
On Monday, Williams told ABC15 he believes it’s a combination of the weather and infrastructure issues.
“I would say it’s both,” said Willams. “I will say it was very hot here in the summer of 2020, and the issue here was not that bad at the time. Of course, there has been a lot more growth here in the West Valley from the summer of 2020 to now.”
Williams told ABC15 the utility company has plans to bring several other wells online within the next year.
Liberty has now twice responded to questions from Commissioner Tovar. In the most recent response, the company admitted there have been at least two times in August in one area where pressure was below what is required.
“There’s always that risk when you drop below 20 psi (pounds per square inch) that there could be contaminants that wouldn’t normally go into the system,” explained Williams.
Liberty told the ACC that after a drop in pressure that lasted two hours, the water was tested and found to be safe.
Maricopa County was eventually notified as well. Liberty said the county also did testing and gave the green light a few weeks later.
The shorter decrease in pressure was a few days after the first and, according to Liberty, lasted 15 minutes. The filing from the utility company does not mention if testing was done immediately following that instance.
Monday Commissioner Tovar told ABC15 the decrease is still “unacceptable."
“Liberty customers are entitled to safe and reliable water service and I’m taking steps to make sure that happens moving forward,” said Commissioner Tovar.
Both she and Williams told ABC15 separately that the bare minimum, 20 psi, just isn’t enough.
“Ideally, we would see at least 40 pounds [psi] and never dip below this,” said Williams.
That’s something Williams wants changed in Arizona law as well - a desire he’s expressed to the ACC.
For now, Liberty is using extra water from the City of Goodyear. Goodyear City staff provided ABC15 with this statement Monday:
“We are aware of the inquiries that the Arizona Corporation Commission is making on this topic, and haven't been asked to provide any information to the commission. We are closely monitoring the situation as it is imperative that all of our residents receive the best water quality, regardless of who their water provider may be. That is why the city approved an interconnect agreement in June 2022 to deliver up to 1 million gallons of water per day to Liberty, if needed, to help alleviate their water pressure issues.”
On Monday, the ACC also received an email about billing issues from a Goodyear City Council member, who said they were receiving daily complaints about billing problems.
“I will say the pressure has been much better recently,” said Williams.
Currently, the increase in pressure that residents have reported makes the city manager feel better when it comes to fire safety, but he said their focus is now long-term solutions.
ABC15 asked Liberty for an interview, but again the company only sent a statement:
“On August 17, 2023, the Arizona Corporation Commission (ACC) opened a docket regarding water pressure issues in Liberty’s service territory. Liberty has been able to improve water pressure and service. Liberty strives to deliver safe, clean, and reliable water to our customers, and we look forward to working with the Arizona Corporation Commission (ACC) on this matter.”
Williams told ABC15 he was able to meet with Liberty earlier on Monday.
“What we told Liberty today is that we want to see solutions to this problem, we want to see hydrant testing in Litchfield Park to see that they are adequate, that they are safe,” said Williams. “We want to see proof of that, and also we want to see adequate water pressures.”
Commissioner Tovar said ACC staff is investigating each complaint and will file their recommendations in the coming weeks.
The Commissioner told ABC15 she would be requesting more information from Liberty.
Both Williams and Commissioner Tovar told ABC15 about plans to host a town hall next month to hear from customers.
