Public Notice & 30-Day Public Comment Period | Renewal of AZPDES Permit AZ0024554 for the Rio Salado Habitat Restoration Area in Maricopa County

ADEQ welcomes comments on the proposal to issue Arizona Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (AZPDES) renewal permit number AZ0024554 to the City of Phoenix for the proposed discharge of up to 3.62 million gallons per day (mgd) of groundwater from five supply wells to provide water for wetland ponds and irrigation of native plants within the Rio Salado Habitat Restoration Area.  View Public Notice/Related Documents > ADEQ encourages and values your input and participation. To view more ADEQ public notices, visit azdeq.gov/notices About ADEQ Under the Environmental Quality Act of 1986, the Arizona State Legislature established the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality in 1987 as the state agency for protecting and enhancing public health and the environment of Arizona. For more information, visit azdeq.gov. ADEQ will take reasonable measures to provide access to department services to individuals with limited ability to speak, write or understand English and/or to those with disabilities. Requests for language translation, ASL interpretation, CART captioning services or disability accommodations must be made at least 48 hours in advance by contacting the Title VI Nondiscrimination Coordinator, Leonard Drago, at 602-771-2288 or Drago.Leonard@azdeq.gov. For a TTY or other device, Telecommunications Relay Services are available by calling 711. ADEQ tomará las medidas razonables para proveer acceso a los servicios del departamento a personas con capacidad limitada para hablar, escribir o entender inglés y/o para personas con discapacidades. Las solicitudes de servicios de traducción  de idiomas, interpretación ASL (lengua de signos americano), subtitulado de CART, o adaptaciones por discapacidad deben realizarse con al menos 48 horas de anticipación comunicándose con el  Coordinador de Anti-Discriminación del Título VI, Leonard Drago, al 602-771-2288 o Drago.Leonard@azdeq.gov. Para un TTY u otro dispositivo, los servicios de retransmisión de telecomunicaciones están disponible llamando al 711.

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Arizona Department of Environmental Quality COMMENT PERIOD BEGINS | Renewal of AZPDES Permit AZ0024554 for the Rio Salado Habitat Restoration Area in ... On June 15, 2023, the public comment period begins for the proposal to issue Arizona Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (AZPDES) renewal permit number... . 22 hours ago
Rio Salado Habitat: Wildlife Sanctuary Created From Wasteland  By Kathleen Ferris  To create the park, the city removed 1,185 tons of tires and 138,572 cubic yards of trash.  Five groundwater pumps were added to the site.  The pumps create a riparian pond at the park’s Central Gateway at South Central Avenue just south of East Watkins Street.  The pumps also maintain marshlands and irrigate some trees and bushes.  Water from 33 storm-drain outfalls flows directly into the habitat. In 2000 the City of Phoenix began digging piles of trash, tires, appliances, and hulks of old cars out of a 5-mile section of the Salt Riverbed that had served as a dump for decades.  The Salt River once flowed through Phoenix before dams were built over 100 years ago to store water for farmers, and later, for homes and businesses in the Greater Phoenix Metropolitan Area. The Valley received the water it needed to grow but the empty riverbed scarred the heart of the city. In the late 1980s, Phoenix began to re-imagine the riverbed as a park stretching from 24th Street to 19th Avenue.Back then the estimated $80 million restoration of the riverbed was for dreamers. After all, the riverbed was 80 percent landfill. The dreamers included a development company that tried for years to find a safe way to build and irrigate a golf course along the south side of the riverbed between 7th and 16th streets.The golf course was never built, but the dreamers won without it. In 1991, Maricopa County Supervisor Ed Pastor was elected to Congress and made the restoration of the Salt River his mission. Federal money made the project possible.The Rio Salado Habitat Restoration Area was a partnership among the City of Phoenix, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Maricopa County Flood Control District and the Arizona Water Protection Fund. At the time, it was the largest restoration project ever attempted by the Corps. Nina Mason Pulliam Rio Salado Audubon Center. Photo Credit: Bill Timmerman

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