📣 CREEKER BROADCAST — WHAT’S GOING ON WITH OUR WATER?

The word on the Creek is: “Cave Creek sold our water.”

So I went looking for what actually happened.

Here’s what Creekers should know:

The Town of Cave Creek has been considering the sale of its municipal utility systems.

On July 10, 2026, the Town formally opened an Invitation for Bid involving the:

💧 Cave Creek Water System
💧 Desert Hills Water System
🚰 Cave Creek Wastewater System

The bidding period closed September 10, 2026.

That was only days ago.

This does NOT automatically mean Cave Creek sold its water rights.

There are three different things we need to keep separate:

1. Selling water
Cave Creek already sells treated bulk water through arrangements involving the Desert Hills system.

2. Selling the water utility
The Town has formally invited bidders to potentially purchase the infrastructure and other assets associated with the Cave Creek and Desert Hills water systems.

3. Selling or transferring our water rights or CAP entitlement
That is a separate and extremely important question.

Cave Creek relies heavily on Colorado River water delivered through the Central Arizona Project (CAP).

Earlier in this process, the Town specifically explained that selling Desert Hills could allow Cave Creek to retain approximately 550 acre-feet of CAP water that had been supplied to Desert Hills.

So before anybody says:

“Cave Creek sold our water.”

My question is:

WHAT exactly was sold—or is proposed to be sold?

The pipes?

The treatment plant?

The wells?

The utility customers?

The service territory?

The wastewater system?

The Town’s CAP entitlement?

Groundwater rights?

Storage credits?

And who gets to determine our future water rates?

Those aren’t all the same thing.

There is another major development Creekers should know about: Town bid documents said Phoenix was scheduled to assume domestic and fire-water service south of Carefree Highway around the beginning of September, while Cave Creek was establishing an interconnection capable of receiving treated Phoenix water.

That makes understanding the whole transaction even more important.

As of September 16, 2026, the public bidding period has closed. The next records Creekers should be looking for are the September 10 bid opening/tabulation, the bidders and amounts offered, any staff recommendation, and any Town Council action accepting or rejecting a proposal.

Until those records establish otherwise, I don’t think the accurate statement is simply:

❌ “Cave Creek sold our water.”

The documented statement is:

✅ Cave Creek formally solicited bids for the possible sale of its Cave Creek Water, Desert Hills Water and wastewater utility systems, and those bids closed September 10.

Now Creekers need to know who bid, what they offered to purchase, what Cave Creek keeps, and what happens to our water supply and rates if a sale moves forward.

🌵 CREEKERS ASK QUESTIONS.

Because water in the desert isn’t just another utility.

It is our future.

— Creeker Broadcast
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