Effluent water issue has potential solution after meeting

The community of Senita sent representatives to meet with Global Water, and the two sides may have come up with a plan to stop the effluent water discharge into the Santa Rosa (404) wash.

Global Water has been using the wash to discharge its unused effluent water. Members of the community have claimed the discharge forces them to pay high landscaping fees to keep the wash clear of overgrowth and debris. In an attempt to resolve the issue, the two sides, along with representatives from the City of Maricopa, met on April 29 to identify a solution.

According to Maricopa City Manager Gregory Rose, there is only one possible solution. Global Water will have to reach an agreement with the University of Arizona and the City of Maricopa to discharge the water onto their properties. For Maricopa, the water would be put in the lake inside the Copper Sky complex.

This idea concerned some attendees of the meeting. According to Senita homeowner Terry Clark, the effluent water would contaminate the lake. Members of the community would no longer be able to catch and keep their fish due to water quality.

However, Rose has refuted this claim.

“There would not be a large effect on the water quality,” Rose said. “The water is highly treated. This is a win-win situation for everybody.”

Despite Rose’s confidence in the resolution, there still seems to be some confusion from the other parties involved.

According to Clark, the two sides were unable to reach any kind of agreement. He stated there are three points at which Global Water can discharge their effluent water. They could move their discharge location either north or south of the current location by Senita. However, to do so would likely affect the Native American communities. This keeps the city’s least impactful point of discharge where it is.

Global Water, on the other hand, felt the meeting went well. According to General Manager Jon Corwin, significant progress was made.