BUSINESS
In deep water Threats, bribes and financial failures backdropped water district walkouts. Then, it shut down
BY DAVID IVERSEN
T
equipment was maintained well enough for even fire response. However, after scheduling an interview with journalists, that employee suddenly received what they perceived as a veiled threat from MCDWID board member Lucy Rodriguez. “Weren’t you going to live in the mountains [because] you don’t like people?” Rodriguez wrote. “You’re off to a good start.” Fearing retaliation, the employee withdrew from the interview and declined to speak on the record. Rodriguez did not respond to requests for comment regarding her remarks. What a torrential mess Over the past six months, the district has grappled with financial missteps, allegations of contractor misconduct and bribery, and cybersecurity threats, which are documented in meeting minutes. Together, it illustrates a utility that is struggling badly. Office Manager Gloria Landa reported Nov. 18 the district’s email account had been hacked. A fraudulent request to add a California-based contractor to the district’s payroll service, Paychex, triggered an alert. Around the same time, multiple unauthorized checks linked to the district’s Wells Fargo account were sent to recipients in Florida and Colorado. “Our office email was hacked, and the cyber investigation began,” Landa told the board. The district’s insurance carrier is currently overseeing the investigation. By December, questions emerged around
O BORROW AN APPOSITION from the seven DOJ prosecutors who resigned in February, in Maricopa, May 22 was a Tuesday
Night Massacre. That day, the Maricopa Consolidated Domestic Water Improvement District released its annual budget. Just hours later, four senior employees walked off the job, leaving the district without enough staff to stay open. What management remained quickly posted a notice that they were closing indefinitely. “Our office is temporarily closed until further notice due to scheduling issues,” read a message on the district’s website. “We are working diligently to resolve these issues and will provide updates as soon as we have a clear timeline for reopening.” The office did reopen in June. Office staff said the weekslong closure had minimal impact on customers. “We weren’t able to pay the bill while they were closed,” said a customer settling an invoice when the office reopened June 10. MCDWID is a small, locally governed utility that provides groundwater-sourced domestic water to an estimated 500 homes in the Heritage District, New Saddleback Vista and Valle Escondido neighborhoods. The district is overseen by a volunteer board that holds regular public meetings. Following the walkout, one of the former employees contacted InMaricopa with concerns about district operations. Beyond the closure, there was palpable fear about whether the
the conduct of contractors hired to replace water meters. According to the Dec. 9 meeting minutes, a subcontractor allegedly attempted to bribe Field Operations Manager Matthew Williford to fix a malfunctioning meter that left an unknown number of customers without water. “One of the employees called and attempted to bribe me into completing his job,” Williford reported. “We had district members without water all weekend,” said board member Chris Giles. “This is not good at all.” Allegations of faulty equipment and misconduct persisted into the following meeting. District Engineer Bill Collings reported Intrepid Builders had installed water meters backwards, causing further disruptions. Williford again claimed a subcontractor from Intrepid attempted to bribe him to resolve the issue. While the meeting minutes stated Intrepid ended its relationship with the subcontractor, Intrepid owner William Miller, based in Casa Grande, denied any such action. “I don’t know anything about that,” Miller said, denying any knowledge of bribes involving his workers or subcontractors. Nevertheless, the board approved a final payment of $47,711 to Intrepid Builders. This
InMaricopa.com | July 2025
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