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Officials Say Dirty Water From Floods Won't Affect Water Quality
Published: Tuesday, August 19, 2014 - 4:24pm
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Road flooded sign.
Central Arizona Project says flash flooding has sent debris and mud into the canal system that supplies water to millions of people in the state. But Phoenix and Tucson officials said there’s no need to worry about water quality.
Tuesday’s severe monsoon led to flooding on Skunk Creek in north Phoenix and when it overflowed, dirty water got into the Arizona Canal. CAP notified cities and towns that depend on its water supply about the problem. Phoenix Water Services Director Kathy Sorensen said none of the bad water was allowed to enter the city’s water system.
"In a situation like this, what we were actually able to do was shut the intakes to the plant, let the muddy water pass us by and we ramped down production at that plant and ramp up production at some of our other plants," Sorensen said.
A spokesperson with the city of Tucson said none of the dirty CAP water was delivered to consumers there. Officials with both cities said the tap water is perfectly safe to drink.
