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Why water?

October 3, 2005

Why, Ariz. — Rural communities face a myriad of issues competing for local attention and dollars; housing, roads, schools and even water. Why water? Well, just ask officials at the Why Utility Company, Inc. (WUCI) in tiny Why, Arizona.

The answer might surprise many of the state’s urban dwellers.

“We have high concentrations of arsenic levels and a water distribution system that fails to meet the current minimum standards for public water systems as prescribed by the Arizona Administrative Code,” explained Vern Denning, system manager for the WUCI. “We need to make extensive changes to better serve our customers.”

Those changes are beginning to be made, thanks in part to a $400,000 Rural Community Assistance Corporation loan that will pay predevelopment costs as well and fund the purchase of a new filtration system and two storage tanks.

The upgrades are only part of a total system makeover that will cost nearly $1.4 million.

Additional funding will come from United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development grants and loans.

WUCI is typical of many small — often cash-strapped — water systems throughout the United States struggling to meet the water needs of their rural customers. There are more than 54,000 community water systems operating in the U.S. Of that number, 85 percent are designated “small” or “very small” and serve populations of between 25 and 3,300.

WUCI has a customer account base that fluctuates between 79 and 92. Residents of Why, which is located in Pima County about 120 miles west of Tucson, depend completely on WUCI and its small staff and board of directors to provide them with clean, affordable water.

USDA Rural Development grants routinely fund improvements to small, rural water systems that frequently struggle to meet federal Safe Drinking Water Act standards.

"When the local utility has to give its customers tokens so they can buy water from the machine at the local gas station, you know that something needs to happen...and happen fast. No matter how remote a community...no matter how few folks on a system...clean, safe water is a basic commodity. USDA Rural Development is pleased to help Why, Arizona, ensure that its residents have water that meets health and safety standards," said Eddie Browning, State Director for USDA Rural Development in Arizona.

In Why, WUCI will use the RCAC and USDA Rural Development funds to increase system pipe size; seal numerous leaks (that currently contribute to a loss of 300,000 gallons of water each month); purchase the new filtration system (that should help the utility meet new federal Maximum Contaminant Levels (MCLs) that go into effect in January); and pay for two new storage tanks, one that holds 32,000 gallons of water and one that holds 125,000 gallons.

The changes and critical loans will necessitate the first rate-increase in WUCI’s history.

However, the new rates — $40 per 4,000 gallons and $2 for each additional 1,000 gallons up to 9,000 gallons for most residential customers — fall close to the middle of what Arizona residents pay for that amount of water, which is between $5 and $77 per 5,000 gallons.

“Of course, it’s never the first choice to raise rates,” said Denning. “Unfortunately it’s necessary in this case. We’re just happy that, thanks to RCAC and Rural Development, we will be able to make necessary upgrades to ultimately better serve Why residents.”

When it comes to systems such as WUCI and such a basic service — one that most Arizona residents take for granted — where public needs and health are at issue, perhaps the funding question should be, “Why not water?”

Headquartered in West Sacramento, California, and serving 13 western states, RCAC is a nonprofit agency providing technical assistance, training and financing to rural communities seeking to develop a wide range of local services including, community facilities, affordable housing and water treatment facilities. In 1996, RCAC was designated a Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) by the United States Treasury. RCAC maintains a field office in Tucson, Arizona.

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