Group launches AZ Watergate campaign over water problems in Pinal County
by Sonu Wasu | ABC 15
It’s a company riddled with scandal, the owner now under a federal indictment for bribery and fraud. Now the management of Johnson Utilities is asking the community that’s fed up with them for another 23 percent water rate hike.
As public hearings are held, a progressive group calling themselves non-profit, and non-partisan has launched a campaign called AZ Watergate, in light of the water problems San Tan Valley has been plagued with.
“We deserve fair bills, adequate service, and water that’s safe to drink. So far Johnson Utilities has failed to provide that. The water smells like sewage and chemicals, comes out of the taps brown or discolored. Bills that claim people have used 60,000 gallons in a given month, bills that inexplicable double from one month to the next,” said Emily Kirkland, the co-director of Progress Now Arizona, who had spent several hours that morning listening to concerns from many Johnson Utilities customers.
