Another Cave Creek Water Emergency
According to the late Albert Einstein “no problem can be solved by the mind that created it.”
Cave Creeks water problems didn’t happen overnight, and they won’t be solved by the same approach that ignored them for decades.
The current water emergency has exposed two important realities: our aging infrastructure and the enormous cost of maintaining a municipal water utility. Much of the system is decades old, and replacing or upgrading it will require significant investment. The questions we should be asking is simple: Is Cave Creek good at running a water company and does it make financial sense?
I believe it’s time to have that conversation.
As someone who has spent my career solving complex business problems, I believe we should carefully evaluate whether a qualified private water utility could better serve our community.
Potential advantages include:
- Access to the capital needed to modernize and replace the aging infrastructure.
- Greater operational expertise in managing complex water systems.
- Reduce financial risk to Cave Creek Taxpayers.
- The ability for Town government to focus on core services while ensuring reliable water delivery.
Owning a water company has little value if it cannot reliably provide water. Today, approximately 95% of Cave Creek’s water comes from the Central Arizona Project (CAP), and our community still lacks a balanced, diversified long-term water portfolio.
The goal should never be ownership for ownership’s sake. The goal should be delivering safe, reliable, and affordable water while protecting taxpayers from unnecessary financial burdens.
It’s time to evaluate every option with an open mind and choose the solution that best secures Cave Creek’s future.
By Brian Hardy, Candidate for Cave Creek Mayor
