AZ city cuts off a neighborhood’s water supply amid drought

[Deleted]

Jan 18, 2023 16:57:43 GMT -5 icedcoffee said:

Jan 18, 2023 15:33:38 GMT -5 notreal said:

There is a public Facebook page just for the water situation and it's wild enough for me.

I lurked for a bit. OMG. These people are insane. 😂

OMG I made it five minutes. That one woman keeps trying to say they are all low-water users. 

[pixy0stix]

I've been trying to think of an analogy for what these people did (which is dicey on this board, lol!)

So imagine you have a house with a well that provides enough water for your family and only your family. A neighbor builds their house without digging a well, or even a plan for their water. They expect you to share your well, that you dug, sized, and permitted to take care of only your family's needs. That's nuts, right? That neighbor is putting your quality of living in jeopardy because they did not want to deal with sourcing their own needs before building. And not only that, you have the neighbor saying you're a bad person because you planned for all your amenities and aren't willing to pare down to help them.

[pixy0stix]

Jan 18, 2023 14:16:07 GMT -5 @villainv said:

Two more thoughts:

1. Scottsdale chose to stop allowing water distribution to this area, but is still allowing people in Scottsdale city limits to water golf courses and fill pools. I understand why they would decide to cut off an unsupported area, but I can see why the residents are upset that Scottsdale has prioritized golf courses and pools over some people’s lives and livelihood.

2. Possibly anecdotal, but several of the people interviewed in the various articles have said they now they do laundry at family’s houses in Scottsdale or joined a gym in Scottsdale to shower….so I wonder how much water Scottsdale is actually saving by cutting off this distribution.

Water rights have nothing to do with saving/conserving water. It's all about who gets to use the water. So gyms and friends that have houses in areas with water rights can use that water how they want. I get the feeling that most of these people aren't from western states and don't get that distinction.

Example: CO only recently approved rain barrels, because for the longest time people didn't own the water that was running off their roof. If you barreled it, it was theft.

[sparkythelawyer]

Jan 18, 2023 21:56:21 GMT -5 pixy0stix said:

Jan 18, 2023 14:16:07 GMT -5 @villainv said:

Two more thoughts:

1. Scottsdale chose to stop allowing water distribution to this area, but is still allowing people in Scottsdale city limits to water golf courses and fill pools. I understand why they would decide to cut off an unsupported area, but I can see why the residents are upset that Scottsdale has prioritized golf courses and pools over some people’s lives and livelihood.

2. Possibly anecdotal, but several of the people interviewed in the various articles have said they now they do laundry at family’s houses in Scottsdale or joined a gym in Scottsdale to shower….so I wonder how much water Scottsdale is actually saving by cutting off this distribution.

Water rights have nothing to do with saving/conserving water. It's all about who gets to use the water. So gyms and friends that have houses in areas with water rights can use that water how they want. I get the feeling that most of these people aren't from western states and don't get that distinction.

Example: CO only recently approved rain barrels, because for the longest time people didn't own the water that was running off their roof. If you barreled it, it was theft.

Hun. I didn't know that. That's amazing! And yet, when I think about it, it kind of makes sense if the area is relying on the runoff.

[Pom]

Well, enjoy the lack of planning and research when moving to an exceptionally drought prone area. I'd have been checking that shit out. Sorry, but I've lived in high drought areas, hurricane areas, bayou areas prone to flooding. We researched our home location and water information. I feel like this is going to be just a taste of what's coming. The developers don't give a fuck, they got paid. Lack of regulation seems to be a favorite flavor of a percentage of this country screaming they don't want big government. And if you think you have a right (which I think everyone should) to fresh water within reason of your home situation, ask the people on reservations with no running water for YEARS and YEARS, how they got saved. They were forced to move to land against their will and they have had zero recourse or government help. www.digdeep.org

[notreal]

Jan 19, 2023 11:02:38 GMT -5 Pom said:

Well, enjoy the lack of planning and research when moving to an exceptionally drought prone area. I'd have been checking that shit out. Sorry, but I've lived in high drought areas, hurricane areas, bayou areas prone to flooding. We researched our home location and water information. I feel like this is going to be just a taste of what's coming. The developers don't give a fuck, they got paid. Lack of regulation seems to be a favorite flavor of a percentage of this country screaming they don't want big government. And if you think you have a right (which I think everyone should) to fresh water within reason of your home situation, ask the people on reservations with no running water for YEARS and YEARS, how they got saved. They were forced to move to land against their will and they have had zero recourse or government help. www.digdeep.org

I like the dig deep group very much, their Navajo project has done good things.

[AAM2012]

Jan 17, 2023 5:45:19 GMT -5 meanie said:

We almost moved to AZ when I was going into highschool and my mom's job was relocating. One of the places we looked at was Anthem, a new town built in the middle of the desert outside of Scottsdale. At the time they just had McMansions and a rec center, but they said they had plans to bring in all kinds of services, a school, etc.

I looked it up a while ago and it looks like they turned it into a retirement community. Some of my mom's coworkers moved there and their new houses were falling apart because they were so shoddily built. These communities seem like a cash grab, and you are literally in the middle of nowhere.

It’s actually way more than a retirement area. It’s pretty massive and a lot of families live there, especially those who work in the N. Phoenix area.

But yeah it was a desert before it was built.

[AAM2012]

Jan 17, 2023 16:30:25 GMT -5 noodleoo said:

Jan 17, 2023 16:25:38 GMT -5 pixy0stix said:

Every time I post an article about Lake Mead, and how in 6ish months power to 40M people might be cut off, there's always a few people on the board that are surprised. I don't think people care/pay attention to what's happening. 

Totally off topic, but is all the rain out west going to help with the Lake Mead situation at all? I was one who was shocked to read that article (I live in NE so that’s my excuse).

Not really per our local news (Phoenix). It’s helped pretty much all of Arizona but not so much at the very northern part of the state.