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Desert
Hills Water customers woke up to no water Thursday morning
by Kathleen Stinson
DESERT HILLS
– Desert Hills Water customers woke up to no water Thursday
morning after an electrical outage shut down the Cloud Road booster
station.
Todd Walker,
spokesman for Arizona American Water, DHW’s current operator,
said the electrical power in Desert Hills went out at 6 a.m. on
Dec. 21. AAW responded immediately and worked with the power company
to restore electrical service.
"We had
water flowing at approximately 8 a.m.," Walker said.
Arizona American
is the current operator of Desert Hills Water, on behalf of the
Town of Cave Creek. The Town of Cave Creek owns the Desert Hills
Water Co., having acquired it in September.
On Thursday
morning, some Desert Hills Water customers were quick to call
the operational emergency number printed on their water bills.
"They
didn’t know who we were. Our account numbers, addresses,
and names did not come up," said DHW customer Mike Sprinkle.
Sprinkle said
when he mentioned they were part of the Desert Hills Water service
area, the representative comprehended and told him "we’ll
look into it."
Another DHW
customer, Rich Goldstein, said he was also concerned about the
fact there is no alarm on the booster station, leaving the water
customers responsible for alerting the company of the outage.
Walker confirmed
the DHW Cloud Road booster station is not an alarmed facility.
"We’ve
recommended to the town of Cave Creek that it be an alarmed facility,"
Walker said, and noted that all Arizona American facilities have
response alarms.
Walker said
he will look into improving the customer service call center response,
and acknowledged that incorporating two data bases such as these
takes time.
"We apologize
for any inconvenience that was caused to the customers,"
Walker said Thursday.
Sprinkle said
he is concerned that when, and if, the state corporation commission
approves the transfer of DHW’s assets to Cave Creek, DHW
customers will have no political voice if a problem occurs with
their water service. DHW customers are not residents of Cave Creek,
and as such, cannot vote in the town elections.
Reach the
reporter at kathleen@thedesertadvocate.com.
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