Queen Creek looks to move 500 customers to irrigation district

Queen Creek is working on an intergovernmental agreement that would transfer the irrigation accounts of about 500 customers and possibly some infrastructure in the water service area to the Queen Creek Irrigation District.

The upshot is the town would apply its new proposed water resource fee to potable water delivery and not irrigation for those customers.

The Queen Creek Town Council approved a motion by a 5-0 vote to initiate the agreement with the irrigation district during its Oct. 7 meeting. Council Members Dawn Oliphant and Travis Padilla were absent from the meeting.

“We have received a lot of comments either personally or via email specifically in regard to irrigation,” Mayor Julia Wheatley said. “We heard you, and this is our plan moving forward.”

When the council issued its notice of intent on Sept. 16 to create a new water resource fee, several irrigation customers asked that the fee be restructured. The proposed fee would pay for the town’s purchases of Harquahala groundwater and the infrastructure needed to bring it to town.

On Nov. 18, the council will take action on the proposed water resource fee that would start at $3.07 per 1,000 gallons of water, based on metered use. Increases to the fee would be phased in incrementally, and the council would have to approve an increase each year for at least the first six years of the new fee.

The proposal also includes a credit based on the water the town receives back through the wastewater system to offset groundwater pumping. The proposed credits would be given to residents with a combined water and wastewater town utility account.

The financial impact could be substantial for residents with large lots who use irrigated water and do not have a combined water and wastewater account with the town utility.

Resident Gary Ellers told council during the Sept. 16 meeting that he and his neighbors are already paying a fee for irrigated water.

“I plugged in my numbers to the town system for year one (and) my total cost will be $7,700 for the first year,” Ellers said. “By year six, my annual water bill will be just under $21,000 for one year. The cumulative cost for all six years is over $83,000. I’m going to have to sell both my kidneys at that point.”

The process of transferring the irrigation accounts to the irrigation district is estimated to be about 12 months. During that time, the town will be picking up the cost of the new fee for irrigation water.

“We would recommend moving forward and creating an exemption for the flood irrigation water use until the assets are transferred to QCID. From a modeling perspective, and setting the rates and fees, that is estimated to cost about $1.4 million a year in the first year,” Deputy Town Manager and Chief Financial Officer Scott McCarty told the council. “The exemption would not cause any other customers under the premise of the new fee to pay more.”

The town would pay for the one-year exemption costs through its operating budget.

“They’re still responsible for paying the new water resource fee for their potable water or all water that’s not flood irrigation,” McCarty said. “This exemption, again, just applies to flood irrigation.”

The 500 irrigation customers are spread out over 20 subdivisions in the municipal planning area. The annual demand for water from those customers is 1,400-acre feet, according to a staff report.

“We believe (the irrigation district) sees potential in taking those customers and those assets on and that’s why they’re at the table willing to discuss,” Assistant Town Manager Shea Joachim said.

Council will still have to vote on the final form of the agreement in the coming weeks.

An informational meeting for irrigation customers will take place at 5:30 p.m., Tuesday, Oct. 27 in the Zane Grey Room at the Queen Creek Library, 21802 S. Ellsworth Road.

Janet Perez can be reached at jperez@iniusa.org. Please send your comments about this article to AzOpinions@iniusa.org. We are committed to publishing a wide variety of reader opinions, as long as they meet our Civility Guidelines.