SEDONA – New data from E.coli testing being done along Oak Creek showed a spike as tourists continue to frequent the area.
Tuesday, Aug. 4, untreated liquid sewage leaked from the State Route 179 sewer main replacement project, causing as much as 20,000 gallons of sewage to get into Oak Creek, just south of the Inn Above Oak Creek and the 179 bridge that crosses the creek.
In a Monday news release, the City of Sedona issued the latest in a series of E.coli tests revealed a numeric spike at Red Rock Crossing, a popular spot from swimmers that has large shade trees and shallow, slow-moving creek water.
A water quality sample taken from Red Rock Crossing on Sunday morning showed an E.coli level of 307.6 CFUs per 100 milliliters. That number had been 18.9 on Saturday morning’s sample, 23.1 on Friday and 8.5 and 9.8 on the two days after the spill.
The state and federal water quality E.coli limit is 235 CFU/100ml of water for recreational swimming.
“While the city sent the results to ADEQ and informed Red Rock Crossing staff, it is not clear if these elevated numbers are the result of increased recreational activity on weekends, standard variation in samples or if there is any relationship to last week’s spill,” the City of Sedona said in Monday’s release. “The city will continue testing and working with ADEQ and area stakeholders to better understand these trends.”
The Sunday test result from Red Rock Cross was the only sample to test higher than the federal limit since the spill. However, other sites along Oak Creek did see higher levels of E.coli from Saturday to Sunday; the samples taken from the Inn Above Oak Creek showed 118.7 Sunday and 64.4 Saturday, and were much lower prior to the weekend.
The Verde Independent sent questions to ADEQ and will update this story at a later date, once a response is received.
The city said a stakeholder group comprised of residents, city staff, and representatives from Oak Creek Watershed Council, Yavapai and Coconino county health departments and ADEQ will review all components of the incident and amend protocols that need to be updated.
Kinney Construction Services, the contractor for the construction project, is responsible for this accidental spill, the release states. The city received four reports about effluent sewage in the vicinity of Kinney Construction’s installment project began, with three of those reports coming since July 1.
City Manager Justin Clifton is quoted in Monday’s news release.
“It’s very disappointing that this accident ever happened,” Clifton said. “We’re doing everything we can to avoid this type of incident in the future, including engaging stakeholders to evaluate our processes. Protecting our natural resources is of utmost importance for the city. It’s in our Community Plan. It’s in our vision statement and part of our sustainability program.”
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Sewage flows; Tourists keep up flow as well - Verde Independent
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