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ADEQ presents statewide cesspool inventory to Yavapai County; county readies abatement program
Summary
ADEQ and consultant Matrix New World outlined a rapid, desktop cesspool inventory identifying hotspots in Yavapai County, citing nitrate and E. coli risks; county staff said a $40,000 ADEQ grant and other funds will support a cesspool abatement program and field verification will be required.
Representatives from the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality on Oct. 15 presented a preliminary statewide cesspool inventory to the Yavapai County Board of Supervisors and county staff, describing both the public‑health rationale for the study and the limitations of a rapid, desktop approach.
Laura Carisona of ADEQ said cesspools—banned in 1976—remain in use across Arizona and can contribute to groundwater contamination that threatens infants and the elderly. Trey Apoff, the lead GIS analyst for Matrix New World Engineering, explained the team’s two‑month desktop methodology: using county parcel data, sewer maps where available, current septic records and satellite imagery to categorize parcels into high‑ and low‑confidence areas for probable cesspool locations and prioritize field verification.
Apoff said the project began with a rough statewide estimate of 30,000–90,000 potential cesspools and that the consultant used parcel reduction and manual review to narrow likely hotspots. He noted data gaps and privacy constraints—sewer‑line locations are sometimes withheld for infrastructure security—meaning field work will be needed to confirm suspected sites. The presentation flagged nitrate, E. coli and sucralose as the primary contaminants of concern.
Dawn Capitosti, Yavapai County’s environmental health manager, told the board the county is pursuing long‑term remediation strategies and seeking federal grant funds, including EPA and CalWAG, and announced the county received a $40,000 ADEQ award to launch a cesspool abatement program and begin accepting applications.
Board members thanked ADEQ and the consultant for the rapid inventory and discussed technical and practical limits: supervisors emphasized that replacing failing systems is costly—staff said current replacement estimates can approach $50,000 per system—and that solutions range from sewer extensions to advanced on‑site systems. County staff said some interim technologies (for example, composting toilets) face state requirements or parcel‑size constraints that can limit their use in places like Ash Fork.
ADEQ and county staff said the inventory’s value is in directing scarce field‑verification resources to the highest‑priority areas; the county will continue to pursue grant funding and technical partnerships to remediate confirmed failing systems.
