Carefree water utility updates: EPA sign-off awaited for Silver Saddle; Bartlett Lake study, emergency plan and service-line checks outlined

Carefree Water Company staff provided the board with a multi-topic operations update covering the Silver Saddle project, the Bartlett Lake feasibility study, the utility's emergency response plan and the EPA-required service-line inventory and customer notifications.

Nick Larson — speaking at his first board meeting after contract approval — said the Silver Saddle contract was awarded to JUDCO as the lowest bidder but contract execution awaits final EPA sign-off; the contractor is holding its price. Larson said missing clauses and bid-packet items were resubmitted to the EPA project officer and that review is ongoing.

On Bartlett Lake, Larson said the Bureau of Reclamation is leading a long feasibility process under the National Environmental Policy Act that includes environmental and financial studies. He said the feasibility work is expected to complete in 2027 and, if advanced, the project would require congressional approval and might take 10–15 years to construct.

Larson outlined the five-year EPA requirement to update the utility's risk-and-resiliency assessment and emergency response plan. He said the district has engaged a consultant (referred to in the transcript as KUV) and scheduled workshops beginning next month to examine IT security, physical-site vulnerabilities and communications. The town budget included funds for the effort; Larson said $50,000 had been set aside this year and that the consultant quotes came in under $25,000 for the planned work.

On service-line notifications, Larson summarized that EPA rules starting in 2024 required all water systems to build a service-line inventory and send annual notices where the pipe material is unknown. He said about 900 customers — roughly one-third of accounts — received notices. The district budgeted $75,000 this fiscal year to begin field verification of unknown lines and expects to complete much of the verification next fiscal year.

Larson said verification will rely on meter-box inspections and photographic evidence from two points: within 18 inches of the meter on the customer side and within 18 inches on the utility side, consistent with ADEQ/EPA guidance referenced in the meeting. He said if a service line is utility-owned and metallic, the utility would replace it; responsibility for customer-side replacements remains unsettled pending guidance and legislation from the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ).

Board members asked for timing and cost details for the fieldwork; Larson said he hopes to begin field investigations in April–May and to get as much done as funds allow this fiscal year. The board did not take formal action on the projects during the meeting.