Rio Verde Foothills water fill station

A water station is a convenient location where water trucks can purchase potable water that meets all Federal and state drinking water standards. Payments are made through an automated kiosk. Trucks enter the facility and fill up at a dispensing station similar in size and function to a vehicle-filling station.

Water is a precious resource and as drought conditions continue in Arizona and the greater Southwest, communities and utilities are increasingly looking to conservation and careful management and preservation of water resources. Water for the Rio Verde Foothills community would be provided through EPCOR’s portfolio of long-term storage credits, exchanging those credits for water that could then be delivered to Rio Verde Foothills through the standpipe.

EPCOR’s Operations and Engineering team has already conducted a preliminary feasibility analysis for a water standpipe that would be constructed in Fountain Hills to provide water that could be hauled to Rio Verde Foothills. Our analysis concluded that the proximity of the Fountain Hills Middle School and an adjacent daycare facility to the only road between Fountain Hills and Rio Verde Foothills, which would be the road that any water hauler would have to take, posed too great a human safety risk to justify further consideration.

No, our first responsibility is to our existing customers and ensuring that safe and reliable water is available to them today and well into the future. This is a responsibility we take very seriously and continuously study and plan for water resource supplies. The water for Rio Verde Foothills would come from long-term storage credits that EPCOR has accumulated from years of storing and recharging unused water supplies.

Now that the Arizona Corporation Commission (ACC) has approved EPCOR’s application, design, construction and approvals from any permitting agencies could take 24 to 36 months.

Based on current market costs, it will cost at least $5 to $6 million.

EPCOR’s rates for service are reviewed and approved by the Arizona Corporation Commission. The ACC approved an initial rate of $16.28 per 1,000 gallons, billed by the gallon, subject to true up once the water station is built and fully operational.

EPCOR’s team of engineering and operations expert have already begun the process of determining the right location and design for the permanent infrastructure. We are moving as quickly as possible to get the water hauling station built. We are doing everything in our power to have the project done by December 31, 2025.​

The location of the water-hauling station will be selected to balance three factors: cost, community impact and water source. Now that the ACC has approved EPCOR’s application, our engineering and operations experts can actively begin the process of locating and designing the permanent infrastructure.

Now that EPCOR’s application to provide water-hauling service has been approved by the ACC, our team is actively working to establish a process for eligible residents to establish an account for service.​

For service from the permanent water-hauling station that will be built, yes.

When the permanent, EPCOR-owned water-hauling station is complete and operational, homeowners will need to establish individual accounts. Each account will have its own PIN number, which they or their contracted water hauler will use in order to access the water-hauling station. This ensures that water meant for the Rio Verde Foothills community remains within the community.

Any eligible homeowner in the Rio Verde Foothills service area, including those with private wells, will be able to establish an account for service with EPCOR when the permanent standpipe infrastructure is complete. Customers must sign up by June 1, 2024 no applications will be processed after that date.

Today, there is no change to the process for residents who are already receiving hauled water service from the existing City of Scottsdale-owned standpipe.

150 acre feet for the entire year for all customers.

EPCOR customers may not obtain the water they receive from the standpipe under their account and provide that water to non-EPCOR customers (even if they are on the same shared well). EPCOR will enforce usage requirements. The Arizona Corporation Commission-approved tariff states that a customer’s account can be terminated if the customer uses more than twice the median residential usage for more than two months in the year.

It is your responsibility to maintain adequate vehicle insurance for your personal vehicle and equipment.

The ACC’s approval of EPCOR’s application for permanent water hauling station service approves up to 150 future homes for future water service. To be one of those 150, homeowners must have applied by June 1, 2024. If more than 150 landowners submitted an application, a lottery will be held.

EPCOR received 230 applications for homes not yet built and will hold a lottery on October 16, 2024, at 6 pm. Check back for details on how to watch.

If your home was built before December 12, 2023, and it is located within the Rio Verde Foothills service area defined by the ACC’s approval, you are already guaranteed service when the water-hauling station is built and operational as long as you submitted your application by June 1, 2024.

If your home was not built by December 12, 2023, and is located within the Rio Verde Foothills service area defined by the ACC’s approval, your application was due by June 1, 2024. Only 150 homes built after December 12, 2023, will be approved for service.

Yes. 230 applications were received but there are only 150 available slots, per the ACC’s approval.

A third-party will conduct the lottery, which can be viewed on www.epcor.com, on October 16, 2024, at 6 pm. Results will be posted on www.epcor.com and approved property owners will be notified by letter.

No. The ACC’s decision clearly states that a re-draw will not be permitted.

Drilling a well is an application process that is regulated by the Arizona Department of Water Resources. A Notice of Intent to Drill a Well must be filed and reviewed and approved by the Arizona Department of Water Resources.

The hook-up fee, set at $24,000 in the ACC’s approval, is required only for homes built after December 12, 2023.

Residents who are approved will be placed in one of two categories based on their requirements.

The first is Full Requirements. Full requirements means the customer would like to buy water weekly/monthly etc. from the standpipe and have it delivered by a water hauler or haul it themselves. The current approved rate for this service is $75 per month as a basic fixed service charge plus $16.28 per thousand gallons purchased (billed monthly).

The Second is Standby Requirements. Standby requirements means a customer would like access to the standpipe, but may not need water other than once per year (say to fill a pool) or in an emergency when a well pump breaks and needs to be fixed. The current approved rate for this service is $25 per month, but in the month he or she takes service, there would be a $225 monthly charge plus the $16.28 per thousand gallons purchased (billed monthly).

Please note that customers can transition from Full to Standby and from Standby to Full only once in a 13 month period.

EPCOR cannot charge for water service from the permanent standpipe infrastructure until it is fully built and operational.

Once approved as an EPCOR customer who is allowed to have service from the Rio Verde Foothills Standpipe and you receive official notice, you’ll need to pay that $24,000 fee within 45 calendar days.

EPCOR notified customers with existing homes in early Fall 2024. Lottery customers will be notified after the drawing on October 16.

Yes, because the approval is linked to the property identification number (APN).

The location is off 176th Street approximately one mile south of Rio Verde Drive. EPCOR was required by the ACC to conduct a traffic study once a location for the standpipe was chosen. We took other things into consideration, such as the safety of the nearby community and standpipe users, noise and ways to decrease the cost.

The feasibility study can be found here.