Residents press Huachuca City on water pipes, taste concerns and smart‑meter idea

A string of residents told the March 21 hearing they are concerned about water quality, old distribution pipes and high bills; one resident said she no longer lets her dog drink the tap water. "The water is bad, the past 7 years my dog doesn’t even drink the water," resident Frances Mock said during public comment.

Town Manager Suzanne Harvey responded that the town conducts required testing and submits results to the state; "our water is absolutely good," she said, while acknowledging taste concerns and agreeing the system merits evaluation. Councilmember Cynthia Butterworth proposed replacing meters with smart meters that read by the hundreds of gallons to provide more accurate billing and help customers monitor usage. SEAGO staff suggested that water infrastructure projects are common CDBG or Colonias candidates but that designs and environmental reviews are typically required before a competitive application can succeed.

No funding decision was made at the hearing; staff will include a water infrastructure and/or smart‑meter proposal among the compiled candidate projects for later council consideration and potential grant applications.