While most of the Valley sleeps, a group of Salt River Project workers are already on the move — winding through neighborhoods and farmland, unlocking canal gates and checking flow meters before the sun even rises.
They’re called zanjeros, and their job is to keep water flowing exactly where it’s supposed to.
Max Hernandez has been doing it for more than 20 years. He follows in the footsteps of his father, who also worked as a zanjero for SRP.
“The job will tattletale on you if you don’t do it,” Hernandez said. “If somebody’s supposed to be shut off and I didn’t shut them off, well, ‘Hey, I’m still getting water.’ Or, somebody’s supposed to be getting water, and they haven’t seen water.”…