The Arizona House gave preliminary approval to a bill designed to keep water flowing to unincorporated areas that had been receiving water service from cities.
Sponsored by Republican Rep. Alexander Kolodin, the bill seeks to address the current situation in Rio Verde, an outlying community that was receiving water from Scottsdale until the city canceled service in January.
"This is a really good solution because it doesn’t cost anybody anything except for the people who are actually benefiting from the water," Kolodin said.
House Bill 2561 directs cities to use existing standpipes to continue transporting water to at-risk communities through intergovernmental agreements.
The bill would also ban counties from issuing new building permits until a permanent water solution is found.
