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Sedona council favors abandoning Dells spray irrigation and adding recharge wells; staff to study recovery options
Summary
City staff recommended abandoning the Dells spray‑irrigation system and adding new recharge wells to handle wastewater effluent; the council broadly supported the "Alternative 2" recharge approach (estimated capital ~$22 million for required wells) and asked staff to proceed while also allowing a study of recharge‑and‑recovery options to preserve long‑term water supply value.
Roxanne Holland, Sedona's wastewater director, told council staff ranked five alternatives for effluent management and that abandoning spray irrigation in favor of additional recharge wells scored highest in the facilities plan decision matrix. "Alternative 2 — abandoning roughly 200 acres of irrigation and adding recharge wells — scored the highest," Holland said, explaining the plan aligns with a 2013 effluent management optimization study and would remove the operational unpredictability of irrigation.
Arizona Water Company staff explained tradeoffs to the council: the recharge‑well option carries an implementation estimate in the low‑tens of millions (staff cited about $22 million for the core recharge work and distribution upgrades, with uncertainty depending on the number and performance of wells), while advanced water purification (AWP) to potable standards was estimated near $161 million with a far longer timeline and complex permitting.
Councilors debated speed and scope. Several members (including Vice Mayor Fultz and others) favored Alternative 2 as the pragmatic near‑term path to stabilize effluent disposal and free the Dells acreage for future planning. Staff said ADEQ requires a phased plan for permitted flow capacity and that the city must preserve the plant’s permitted 2.0 MGD discharge. Council agreed staff should proceed with the recharge‑well program (abandon irrigation) while Arizona Water Company and city staff will jointly scope a supplemental study to evaluate recharge‑and‑recovery (ASR) locations and costs so the city can preserve long‑term options without committing to AWP.
Direction and next steps: staff will carry forward planning for the recharge wells and return with refined cost estimates for the FY28 CIP and a proposed cost‑share and schedule for any additional study on recovery wells; council asked staff to pursue financing options (bonds, grants) and to keep the public informed. No binding vote was taken; council provided collective direction for staff to proceed.
