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http://www.azcentral.com/specials/special26/articles/0627rwater-haulers27.ht
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Hauling water is way of rural life

Shaun McKinnon
The Arizona Republic
Jun. 27, 2005 12:00 AM

ASH FORK - Some nights, Tracy Hunter checks the levels in the water tank
outside, then surveys the piles of clothes that need washing and picks out
only what her husband, Eddie, three kids and she will need right away.

"I think, 'If I wash all these clothes now, we might not have enough water
to take showers the next day,' " she said.

This is part of what it means to live in Arizona's water-hauling country,
rural communities where there is no central water system and drilling a
well isn't possible. The people who go to so much trouble to haul water
came to these remote places looking for a simpler, independent lifestyle or
a home in the mountains or simply a house they could afford. They represent
the extreme side of what it takes to get water in rural Arizona.


State officials can't estimate how many people live this way - they're a
small minority - but it's not uncommon in northern Arizona.

More than half of the people who live on the Navajo Reservation haul water,
as do hundreds of people in areas surrounding Flagstaff, Williams and
Kingman.

"It's a way of life in these areas," said Tom Whitmer, manager of statewide
water resources planning for the Arizona Department of Water Resources.

The water-filling stations in Ash Fork, a tiny town west of Williams in
northern Yavapai County, draw lines of trucks all day on the weekends. The
town is served by a small water system, but most residents beyond a square
mile or so must haul water or have it hauled in.

"In Texas, we never really thought about water," said Eddie Hunter, a
sometimes truck driver who moved his family to Ash Fork a year ago. "The
kids filled pools, played with the hoses . . . "

"Here, there are no water fights," Tracy said. "You really have to watch
it. You don't want to run out when there's bad weather."

The Hunters landed in Ash Fork because other family members lived there and
helped them relocate. So they were willing to dwell in a place with no
water.

They have a 5,000-gallon storage tank at home, enough for about three
weeks. They pay 1 cent a gallon to fill a smaller tank that fits into the
back of their pickup.

Eddie is fixing up a trailer that will let them haul an even larger tank
the three or four miles from town to their home.

If for some reason they can't get into town - if, say, Eddie is away on a
long truck run - they can pay $60 per 2,000 gallons to have water
delivered.

To install a well at their house outside Ash Fork would mean drilling down
more than 2,000 feet, which just isn't practical for a homeowner.

Williams has had to drill down about 3,700 feet to find water during the
ongoing drought, which is why individuals in the high country and plateaus
have few options but hauling, said Whitmer, the state's water-resources
planner.

Ron and Roberta McElwain moved from Boston to the 40-acre Juniper Wood
Ranch south of Ash Fork to escape the big city.

The ranch, which is on the far side of Partridge Creek from town, offered
inexpensive land that put some room between them and anyone else, which was
a big selling point. They drive nine miles up a dirt road and an additional
15 miles to get to the fill station.

It takes 10 quarters to fill the tank in the back of the truck, still a
bargain compared with their monthly water and sewer bills back in Boston,
Roberta said. They also collect rainwater and watch every drop they use.

"You just conserve," she said.

Toni Rubio, who lives off Arizona 89 between Ash Fork and Chino Valley,
goes beyond conservation and can make her 1,000-gallon storage tank last
three months. After she washes the dishes, she uses the water to flush the
toilet - and she doesn't flush as often as city folks.

"Out here you get real creative with water," she said.

Most people know what they're getting into and would rather haul water than
pony up the assessments needed to build a community system. Developers are
even tapping into that group, marketing subdivisions as "water-haul only."

"A lot of people think hauling water is bad," said Danny Lann, who has
hauled water for 13 years to a quarter-horse ranch west of Williams, miles
from any real water system. "But around northern Arizona, it's just what
everybody does."