Power310-9473Chestermere
Water(403) 207-4503
Drainage
Natural Gas1-800-511-3447Chestermere
Phone (in Alberta only): 310-4300Toll-Free (ouside of Alberta): 1-800-667-2345
Hours of operation and mailing address
Phone: (403) 207-4503
Hours of operation and mailing address
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Overview
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FAQ
Short-term water solution in place
Residents in the unincorporated Rio Verde Foothills community have long relied on water delivered by private water haulers from a municipal source, a source that was unavailable to them after December 31, 2022.
We were asked to propose a solution that would provide safe and reliable water over the longer term. EPCOR’s proposal to do that through a water station accessible to private and state-licensed water hauling providers and local residents who have established accounts with EPCOR was approved by the Arizona Corporation Commission (ACC) on November 30, 2023.
EPCOR filed an application for approval to provide limited service for the Rio Verde Foothills on October 13, 2022. In addition to outlining how service might be provided through a newly constructed standpipe, also known as a water hauling station, the application outlined the amount of time needed to build the necessary infrastructure and secure the water needed to serve this unincorporated community.
As a regulated utility, EPCOR must seek and receive approval from the Arizona Corporation Commission before it can provide any service to Rio Verde Foothills. The (ACC) voted to approve EPCOR's application on November 30, 2023.
Procedural Notice to Rio Verde Foothills Property Owners
Procedural Order
Letter of Sufficiency
Application to Provide Standpipe Service
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 has approved EPCOR's application, design, construction and approvals from any permitting agencies could take 24 to 36 months.
