On Wednesday, Cave Creek officials asked residents to dial back their water use after a clog at the Central Arizona Project intake forced the town to shut down its water treatment plant. While crews work to clear the blockage and bring the plant back online, the town has switched to stored reservoir supplies. Until the system is running normally again, residents are being urged to limit outdoor irrigation, hold off on car washes and postpone nonessential laundry.
Town crews working to clear intake clog
As reported by ABC15, Cave Creek pulled water from reservoir storage after a clog in its CAP canal intake led to a shutdown of the town's water treatment plant on Wednesday. “This is kind of is an example of why the town of Cave Creek needs partners,” Bo Larsen said. ABC15 noted that the town's voluntary conservation list includes cutting back on outdoor watering, delaying car washes and waiting on nonessential laundry.
Town officials describe what entered the intake
According to Your Valley, town staff reported that a “thick, mud-type material” entered the CAP intake system from the canal and clogged equipment, and that crews were working to clear the material so the 12-mile raw water pipeline could be restarted. Utilities director Shawn Kreuzwiesner was cited as saying the plant was temporarily shut down to clear the intake and restore normal operations.
Why Cave Creek is exposed
The Town of Cave Creek notes that it depends on Colorado River deliveries for roughly 95% of its water and pumps raw CAP water about 12 miles to its treatment plant, leaving few local wells to fill gaps. Town of Cave Creek officials say stored reserves and interconnect projects are central to short-term resiliency. KJZZ has outlined how federal cuts to CAP allocations would make towns like Cave Creek particularly vulnerable in the coming year.
Repairs and backup plans
ABC15 reported the town warned reservoirs could take a few days to replenish while crews clear the intake. Officials also pointed to the new Phoenix Interconnect, an emergency hookup with the City of Phoenix, as a coming source of redundancy once it is operational later this year. In the meantime, the town asked customers to stretch stored water by following the voluntary measures.
Regional moves to shore up supplies
The clog underlines why municipalities are pursuing swaps, storage and interconnects. KJZZ reported this spring on looming Colorado River cuts that have reshaped planning across the Valley. CAP swap to keep Cave Creek flowing recently covered an intergovernmental agreement intended to move banked water toward Cave Creek as a short-term lifeline. Those deals and planned interconnects are designed to buy time while longer-term solutions, which can be costly and complex, are pursued.
Customers should monitor the Town of Cave Creek news page and sign up for CodeRED alerts for the latest official updates and guidance. The town's page lists conservation tips, contact numbers and links to press releases about water operations.
