Q.C. wash water still unsafe, officials say

Water samples from Queen Creek Wash continue to show excessive levels of E. coli and fecal coliform more than a month after sewer backups pumped thousands of gallons into the wash and a nearby neighborhood.

Residents worried about effects of sewage spills

Probe cites Johnson Utilities in sewage spill

Two sewage spills, May 17 and 18, from the Johnson Utilities Pecan Water Reclamation Plant in Pinal County discharged more than 10,000 gallons of untreated sewage into Queen Creek Wash and the adjacent Pecan Creek neighborhood, Arizona Department of Environmental Quality records show.

Days following the spills, DEQ officials tested standing water in the wash which showed chart-topping levels of coliform and E. coli in excess of 1,600 MPN/100mL. The units stand for most probable number of bacteria per 100 milliliters of water.

“The standard for safe body contact, which is for wading, not full immersion, is 567,” said DEQ spokesman Mark Shaffer.

Tests conducted by the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality a month later on June 16 show a level of 300 MPN/100mL but tests conducted by Johnson Utilities on June 24 show levels at 866 MPN/100mL, DEQ spokesman Mark Shaffer said.

“They showed 700 for fecal coliform and 866 for E. coli,” Shaffer said. “It doesn’t make sense because … fecal should be higher than the other because E. coli is a subset of fecal. That’s what we can’t understand about this. Either way it’s a violation.”

Brian Tompsett, Johnson Utilities vice president, did not return a phone call and e-mail requesting comment.

Shaffer said his agency will continue to test the water and monitor the situation. Johnson Utilities is required to continue monitoring the water until at least two consecutive samples taken at least 24 hours apart are below surface water quality standards for partial body contact for E. coli, according to a notice of violation issued to the company June 5.

As to why the numbers continue to spike, Shaffer said officials are working to find out.

“One thing that was talked about Friday was the effect of defecation of animals out there, but it would stand to reason that would not be that much of a factor,” he said.

Shaffer said his agency continues to be concerned about health and safety in the area — “That’s why we’re monitoring it so closely,” he said noting that they have more testing planned next week.

The May incidents weren’t the first time the utility spilled raw sewage into Queen Creek Wash near Pecan Creek. DEQ records show the company is already in violation of state law for a spill of about 5,000 gallons of raw sewage that occurred Dec. 24.

Though separate from the sewage spill issues, the Arizona Corporation Commission will meet today to discuss the company’s request to expand it’s area of service into four future housing developments in Pinal County.

“The problems they have had in the Pecan Watershed is a different thing,” said Adam Stafford, an assistant to Arizona Corporation Commissioner Bill Mundell. “But someone could raise the issue.”

Mundell has been outspoken on the problems with Johnson’s utility asking for additional scrutiny when the company is expected to bring a rate-hike case to the commission next year — Johnson’s rates are twice as high as Phoenix and Florence. Mundell said they will take public comment during the meeting on Johnson’s request but staffers say the meeting could be long and the entire agenda may not be finished until Wednesday.

“The big way to address problems is the rate case,” Stafford said. “If there is some kind of outstanding issue … we can reset the rates but (Johnson) wouldn’t be able to collect them until they come into compliance.”

— Tribune writer Jason Massad contributed to this report.