Crews are stabilizing the banks along the Nogales Wash as they prepare to fix a partial breach in an underground pipe that carries millions of gallons of wastewater from Nogales, Sonora, to Nogales, ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥, every day.
The emergency repairs to the pipe will include building a watertight enclosure to allow for inspection of the damaged area. The contract for that work went to ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥-based KE&G Construction. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is rebuilding the slopes of the wash that failed during heavy monsoon rains.
Meanwhile, the ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ Department of Environmental Quality is testing water for E. coli bacteria near the breach, at the intersection of San Xavier Road and the Santa Cruz River south of ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥, and at a location southwest of Eloy, according to a Tuesday news release from Santa Cruz County. Heavy metals were not detected in early testing. The daily testing and analyses will continue until the breach is repaired.
