[ADEQ Media] ADEQ Awards $300, 000 Water Quality Improvement Grant to Lake Havasu City in Mohave County

Tue Jul 21 14:04:35 MST 2009

PHOENIX (July 21, 2009) - ADEQ has awarded a $300,000 grant that will
allow Lake Havasu City to continue to replace septic tanks with new
connections to the city's wastewater system.

The grant will be used to offset the cost of closing 1,194 residential
septic tanks, which are being connected to the wastewater system. The
homes are located in the Palm Tree and Cisco neighborhoods in the
northeast part of the city, where conversion to the wastewaster system
is expected to be completed by next year. 

The decommissioning process includes surveying the property, locating
septic tanks, placing wastewater lines, and pumping and crushing the
tanks.  

The city's wastewater pipes and treatment plant will help to protect the
waters of Lake Havasu, which have been polluted by nitrates and other
contaminants that leach from septic tanks to groundwater to the lake
itself. 

"This important funding means cleaner water for Lake Havasu, getting us
one step closer to completing the historic conversion to a modern sewer
system," said ADEQ Director Benjamin H. Grumbles. "By working together
we can upgrade leaky infrastructure and improve environmental health
upstream and down and that's why a regional collaboration will be a
priority for ADEQ to ensure further progress." 

Lake Havasu City had been one of the largest cities in the United States
to use septic tanks, with 28,000 residential tanks in place by 1996,
when ADEQ banned tanks within a mile of four monitoring wells. Since
then, the city has closed more than 12,000 septic tanks. 

The program is funded through the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
under the Clean Water Act. 

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"News media interested in additional information on this or any other
topic concerning the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality should
contact the Office of Communications at (602) 771-2215 or via email at
ms15@azdeq.gov."

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