LITCHFIELD PARK, AZ — Many neighborhoods in Litchfield Park are growing tired of the performance of their local utility and now after ABC15's reporting, the Arizona Corporation Commission is getting involved.
This summer when people in Litchfield Park and parts of Goodyear north of I-10 went to their faucets, they would get a trickle of water or sometimes even no water.
People there like John Connolly get their water from the private company Liberty Utilities.
Connolly is the Vice President of his HOA in the community known as Litchfield Greens.
This summer, he told ABC15 that water pressure issues cost their community.
“We let all the turf die off and diverted all the water to the trees, and we still lost 19 trees as of today,” said Connolly.
On Thursday, ABC15 learned low water pressure has also impacted residents at Sun Health's new retirement campus, even causing some members to not be able to move in.
Liberty ultimately sent an email to customers saying the excessively hot and dry weather was resulting in lower water pressure.
The message urged customers to conserve water.
“It was all done post-event, first of all, so nobody had a heads-up on this,” said Connolly.
ABC15 reached out to cities like Phoenix to see if their water systems had been impacted during the stretch of triple-digit temps this summer.
“Phoenix Water did not experience any distribution or water pressure challenges because of the record heat wave. Since most of the City's infrastructure is underground, and built to withstand high temperatures, the heat did not cause any disruptions to water and wastewater services during the summer months.”
ABC15 first reported the issues in Litchfield Park back in August, and Arizona Corporation Commissioner Anna Tovar was watching.
“I would say it’s a combination of customer complaints and the story that you ran that notified me that there was a bigger problem,” said Commissioner Tovar.
Out of concern for public safety, she opened an investigation. Commissioner Tovar opened a docket and sent a letter with questions to Liberty.
The company responded to the ACC, still blaming the heat and dry weather.
In their response, the company continually said, “Liberty manages and maintains water pressure in the Litchfield Park water system in a manner that ensures an adequate supply of water is available to the entire system.”
But Liberty said they are using extra water from the city of Goodyear.
“They have an interconnect in Goodyear, and, I want to say, two Saturdays ago we noticed the water pressure go up more than double,” said Connolly.
The company did admit in their response at least once this summer they did record water below the required pressure, 20 psi, for a two-hour period.
Commissioner Tovar said low pressure can cause issues.
“When you fall below that the safety issues do you have enough pressure to put out the fire, is there enough water in case there is a large fire or a small fire,” said Commissioner Tovar. “The other issue in regard to water is it becomes vulnerable to bacteria from the groundwater and dirt are seeping into the pipe; and so that creates a mixture could be harmful for those that have a suppressed immune system, we're talking about children.”
The county was notified and inspected the system weeks later, giving the OK when tested.
But Thursday, Maricopa County told ABC15 they are also investigating complaints against Liberty.
Litchfield Park City Manager Matthew Williams told the ACC in his response that he's concerned about pressure at hydrants.
“It is important to remember this is not a new issue, it’s an issue that has been ignored and is only getting worse,” wrote Williams in his letter.
He also said that the city took measurements themselves.
“City pressure testing from August 3rd through August 7th with hydrants closed showed an average of 22 psi with pressures as low as 10 psi at City spigots,” wrote Williams.
ABC15 spoke with the city manager over the phone. Williams said then and in his letter that believes this is an infrastructure issue.
The goal now for everyone, finding swift solutions.
“There are more questions out there than there is answers from the company,” said Commissioner Tovar.
Connolly told ABC15 he believes Liberty needs to help with the cost of the vegetation his community and Litchfield Park lost due to water pressure issues.
“We hope that they use this as an opportunity to make some severe corrections,” said Connolly.
Liberty sent the following statement to ABC15:
“Liberty understands and will continue to address the concerns from our customers and the community. 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.”
Commissioner Tovar has requested Liberty respond to even more questions by September 19.
On Monday, Tom Knapp gave ABC15 a look inside his home Monday to show the pressure has improved, but only after Sun Health installed booster pumps.
He and his wife Besty moved in in the spring to a new portion of Sun Health's retirement community known as the Terraces.
But Knapp and his wife quickly saw a lack of water pressure at their new home.
"The water pressure was so low if you took a shower, you really couldn't get the shampoo out of your hair very well," said Knapp.
He ended up showering in the fitness center where there was better water pressure.
Sun Health was able to allow people into Knapp's building in the spring, but this summer people set to move into another building called the Villas, and have been forced to wait.
John Couture, the Chief Optimization Officer for Sun Health, said some people put their belongings in storage as they wait.
"They are still waiting to move in," said Couture.
