VALLE VISTA – Truxton Canyon Water Company, who was providing water service to Valle Vista, sold the company to Foothills Utilities, with the nearest office in Yuma.
With that purchase, Foothills Utilities inherited a broken, aging system according to Valle Vista residents who were sympathetic to Foothills Utilities, yet extremely frustrated with the ongoing water problems for more than a year.
Lisa Smith, owner of Dogs and Cat Grooming, said Truxton never kept anything up.
She and others say their water problems have been ongoing since 2024, ever since Foothills Utilities took over. They also say it’s hard to get in touch with anyone about the problems in the Yuma office, closest office to them.
“I called them several times yesterday and they said they’d call me back, but nobody called back,” said Lisa Smith. “I (finally) called them and said, I have a business to run. I can’t wash my dogs without water.”
Tina West, Administrative Assistant for Valle Vista Golf, said there have been shutoffs multiple times in the community for well over a year.
“Our business has to shut down, our Restaurant, our Pro Shop, our Out of Bounds Lounge, everything,” West said.
She said sometimes Foothills Utilities just shuts down water at the golf course and all the employees are sent home.
“It’s not only affecting our business,” West said. “It’s also affecting our livelihood.”
Alice Van Stockum, Property and Restaurant Manager at Valle Vista Golf said their water problems are really bad.
“It’s horrible!” she exclaimed. “It’s affecting everybody with health problems. You can’t even flush your toilet.”
She stated that sometimes when she takes a shower the water smells like sewer water.
“It’s putrid!” Van Stockum said.
She stated that water was off last Tuesday, June 9, from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.
“I had to drive all the way to the winery to get well water so I could cook dinner.”
She said the problems were especially hurting senior citizens.
“Many of them can’t drive and can’t even go up to Dollar General to buy bottled water,” she said.
Van Stockum continued, “A lot of friends are considering moving out of the area because of the water.”
Foothills Utilities did not respond to a request for comment on this story.
Featured photo: Because of multiple water outages and drops in water pressure for more than a year, Valle Vista Golf course “greens” are not green. Photo by Connie “Ceejay” Jones.
