Sometime between 5 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. the night of Tuesday, Aug. 4, the SR179 Sewer Main Replacement Project suffered a sewage spill of 15,000 to 20,000 gallons of “untreated liquid effluent” along State Route 179 near the Hillside Sedona shopping center, according to a press release from the city of Sedona.
We started to receive calls from residents in the area about this sewage spill Aug. 5, but social media posts began reporting “something happening” in the area apparently during the actual spill itself.
City officials did not post a press release until nearly 24 hours later. While city officials did notify some nearby homeowners, others downstream remained unaware until someone other than the city contacted them.
One friend of ours who owns a parcel on the creek downstream was unaware until we sent him the link to our story. While he did not go into the creek that day, his dogs ….
Likewise, there are several hundred people downstream both inside and outside Sedona city limits enjoying the creek during these hot summer days with friends and family when there’s nothing else to do with theaters, bars and public venues closed and people are afraid to travel long distances. Most of these folks were unaware until they saw our story, sent to them after they posted photos of themselves and their children in the waters at Chavez Crossing or at Buddha Beach or Red Rock Crossing.
City officials, including our mayor, point out that 20,000 gallons isn’t much into a flowing creek, only adding 150 gallons per minute to a creek that flows at 13,000 gallons per minute.
Proportionally, 20,000 gallons isn’t much, sure, but it is still 12,500 toilet flushes from Sedona’s finest commodes dumping bodily waste into a creek we swim and fish in. There’s a reason we flush that stuff away from our homes rather than dumping it on our lawns or in our dry washes.
It’s certainly worth notifying people downstream or getting information posted immediately even if it is simply: “There has been a sewer spill into Oak Creek. The size and risk are unknown at this time. Stay out of the water. We will report when we know more.”
Would it scare residents and visitors? Possibly, but it would keep them out of the water until the city could determine how bad the spill was … which is kind of the point.
After all, the city of Sedona imposes a $2,500 fine or jail time for those who refuse to wear a face mask on the premise they “might” spread COVID-19 and “maybe” could infect others. But dumping 20,000 gallons of E. coli-laden waste in our creek that causes diarrhea, severe abdominable distress and possible death? Eh. We’ll get to it in a few days, the city seems to say.
Either protect public health or don’t care about it. Pick a lane.
On Aug. 7, three days after the spill, we did get a letter from Kinney Construction Services, Inc., the project contractor. Kinney wrote its company “would like to take a moment to acknowledge the spill that occurred this week, speak to our immediate actions, provide testing updates, and share our environmental commitment to the continued health and vitality of Oak Creek.”
We’re glad they took the moment. While we appreciate getting a statement from the company acknowledging something nasty happened, the passive voice, the lack of ownership of the fault and absence of a “we’re sorry” or “we apologize” or “we regret” is disappointing.
One area resident told us this was actually the third spill; he reported two in July in the same area, adding “there was clear evidence of partial solids and toilet paper in the spill” at the Canyon Drive roundabout.
The company noted that “the cause of the spill was due to the back-up bypass system mechanical malfunction,” but did not indicate if this was due to human error, lack of oversight, a bad part from a factory in Indiana or Indonesia or because Sedona resident John flushed torn-up love letters down the john.
It also shows how companies and corporations, even when clearly at fault, avoid any responsibility for what their companies or products do lest they risk litigation.
Flawed ball bearings don’t kill automobile drivers in rollovers — single-vehicle accidents “happen.” Deadly chemicals in toys don’t kill children — infant deaths “take place.” Toxic spills aren’t the result of workers putting a part in upside down or forgetting to open a valve or because a faulty O-ring breaks, they “occur.”
“Oh curséd fate, thy cruel mistress,” the lawyers lament, “[expletive] happens. Now please don’t sue.”
Christopher Fox Graham
Managing Editor
