If you’ve driven along Honeycutt Road or the Casa Grande Highway this summer, you’ve almost certainly crossed a bridge over the Santa Rosa Wash. This spring, you saw it awash in lushness. It was that way for so long, even Google satellites picked up photos of the greenery.

While the fleeting pops of flora may be a welcome sign for homesick transplants from the East or the Northwest, that isn’t the way it’s supposed to be. 

The ditch is supposed to guide low water flows from Global Water Resources into a single, thin path. In recent years, that flow spread out across the wash, wearing away the channel floor and causing unwanted plant growth.  

Last month, crews with Peak Enterprise Group began grading and erosion control work along the Santa Rosa Wash. The goal is to clear vegetation, repair damaged banks and rebuild access roads along the wash from Smith-Enke Road north to Peters and Nall Road.

A key feature of the project is the creation of a shallow, 20‑foot‑wide V‑ditch between Maricopa-Casa Grande Highway and the southern loop of Rancho El Dorado Parkway. District officials say confining the new ditch will save money in the long run, making long-term maintenance less costly and less disruptive. 

Work is expected to wrap up by Aug. 31, although it could extend depending on weather and soil conditions. 

InMaricopa called the Maricopa Flood Control District for comment but did not hear back by publication time. This information is gathered from public documents on the project.   

In related Maricopa Flood Control District business, an election is scheduled Oct. 1 to fill a vacant seat on the board of directors. The seat, currently held by Scott Kelly, will be decided in a vote at Maricopa Public Library.