July 3, 2022 | www.santansun.com
Relentlessly local coverage of Southern Chandler
An edition of the East Valley Tribune
Chandler can survive drought, city officials say BY KEN SAIN Staff Writer
Officials are finding sunken boats and even old corpses as the water level at Lake Mead is now at the lowest level it has ever been, and federal officials told Congress two weeks ago the severe drought is a warning to all desert dwellers that there is a limit on the water they use. Chandler, however, is in a solid position to survive the drought, which is now in its 23rd year, City Council was told June 20. “You know, we have been preparing for this shortage for a long, long time,” said Gregg Capps, the city’s water resources manager. Chandler gets its water supply from three primary sources, surface water, groundwater and treated wastewater. The surface water comes from three rivers, the Salt, Verde and Colorado.
Lake Mead’s water level dropped to an unprecedented low, threatening cities that rely heavily on Colorado River water. (Special to the Arizonan)
Big cities that rely on Colorado River water – particularly those in
by testimony June 14 by Bureau of Reclamation Commissioner Camille Calimlim Touton, who said Lake Mead water levels are falling far faster than expected even earlier this year. She told the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources Committee that the federal government in 60 days is poised to impose water use restrictions because shortages and demand on the Colorado River Basin will require reductions of 2 million to 4 million acre-feet in 2023 to preserve “critical levels” at Lake Mead and Lake Powell. Her agency reported that as of last Thursday, Lake Mead water levels had dropped 6 feet in a month. Its latest 24-month outlook last week said it is forecasting the “most
southern Nevada that have virtually no other source – were stunned
See
DROUGHT on page 7
Chandler celebrating July 4 without fireworks BY KEN SAIN Staff Writer
The City of Chandler will celebrate the Fourth of July this year, but will do so without fireworks. City officials are planning for an All-American Bash at AJ Chandler Park in Downtown. Cold Shott and the Hurricane Horns will perform two sets of their rocking R&B music. There will be no fireworks because of a shortage of the pyrotechnics – a problem that also has forced Phoenix
to cancel its fireworks show. “It’s a domino effect that started when COVID happened in 2020,” said Jason Colt, owner of Santan Fireworks, whose Avondale company is the largest fireworks retailer in Arizona. According to Colt, here are the issues: All the manufacturing is based in Shanghai, China and factories started to get behind because of the pandemic, being forced to close and having a shortage of workers. All the shipping out of Shanghai is
controlled by one man and importer and exporters must stay on his good side to get their goods onto a ship and on their way to the U.S. The port in Long Beach had the same worker shortages other industries are facing, so it has led to a lot of goods sitting in the port for weeks before they ship out. The backlog has made it hard for the U.S. train system to keep up and many containers filled with fireworks sit and wait for an available train spot.
At the same time there’s been all these issues in supply, consumer demand has seen an increase of more than 300%. “People getting bored,” Colt said. “People not having anything to do and just deciding they want to blow fireworks off.” Put all those factors together, and many cities are having to plan Fourth of July parties that don’t include fireworks. The city traditionally does have a See
FIREWORKS on page 4
City Council seats on the line as early voting starts BY KEN SAIN Staff Writer
The number of women serving on Chandler’s City Council is likely to double or more after this year’s election. Mail-in ballots will begin showing up in residents’ mail boxes soon as early voting begins July 6 for the Aug.
2 Primary Election. In addition to state and county races, Chandler residents will be selecting a mayor and three council members for the next four years. City candidates must get 51% of the primary vote to win outright or some hopefuls on the August ballot will have to face off again in the Nov. 8 General Election.
Jane
There are two candidates for mayor and five for three Council seats. Three of those Council candidates are women, so at least one is likely to be elected. They would join current Councilwoman Christine Ellis, who is not up for election this year. There’s also a woman running for mayor, so the Chandler Council theoretically could have as many as five
women sitting at the dais. In the mayoral race, incumbent Mayor Kevin Hartke is seeking a second term. He has a lot of advantages in the race. He’s been a member of Council for since 2008. He has a significant financial edge with more than $228,000 in campaign funds at the start of the
F E AT U R E D STO R I E S New Flex service starting soon here . . . . . . . . . . . . . News . . . . . . . . . . Page 3 Chandler's last big piece of land for housing . . . . . Business . . . . . . Page 29 Sun Lakes Rotary names new leaders . . . . . . . . . . . . Neighbors . . . . Page 39
CHANDLER CITY COUNCIL
Chandler center to debut major musical . . . . . . . . GetOut . . . . . . . Page 45
See
VOTING on page 8
More News . . . . . . . . 1-28 Business . . . . . 29-33 Sports . . . . . . . . . 34 Opinion . . . . . 35-38 Neighbors . . . 39-42 Faith . . . . . . . . . . 43 GetOut . . . . . 45-47 Directory . . . 48-50