Expect fines if found trespassing in washes

To help prevent damage caused by trespassers illegally dumping or riding all-terrain vehicles, the Maricopa Flood Control District has installed No Trespassing signs at various points along the Santa Cruz and Santa Rosa channels where they cross Maricopa.

The Maricopa Police Department will enforce the restrictions. Violators can be fined up to $2,500 and/or sentenced to prison for six months or longer.

“There is a safety concern in the short term as well as long-term damage that is occurring from advanced erosion caused by vehicular traffic,” Steve Stahl, interim police chief, said. “We strongly encourage compliance with the no-trespassing request by MFCD, but are prepared for citations if necessary.”

David Alley, district manager for the flood control district, said the purpose of the signs – posted in November — is to raise awareness that the channels are there to facilitate the flow of water in the event of a flood, not for recreational or any other purposes.

“People don’t see a problem with dumping excess landscape material or trash in washes, or riding their ATVs up and down them,” Alley said.

The channels, which are easements, owned by the district, need to be maintained in optimum condition at all times, he said.

“Since we never know when a storm event may occur, we have to keep them in condition so they can do their job, if needed,” Alley said.

Last year, MFCD began an ongoing maintenance program to bring the channels back to standard. The group’s board of directors spent $175,000 on about three miles of channel, Alley said.

“We cleared debris and vegetation and repaired erosion that had occurred on the banks,” he said. “We had one section that had completely breached. You could stand on the floor of the channel and see a tunnel about eight feet wide and six feet high that went through to the other side.”

Crews removed hundreds of tires and crushed hundred of tons of broken up concrete people have dumped in the washes.

“There was a bit of everything, from animal carcasses to appliances,” Alley said.