Water and Wastewater Utility Tours Will Show How Utility Payments Are Used

My Turn

Diane Joens

Mayor of Cottonwood

When you pay your Cottonwood Utility bill, how is that payment used? The city of Cottonwood is sponsoring a series of “boots on the ground” tours to help water and wastewater customers understand how utility systems work and where the dollars go.

I asked City Manager Doug Bartosh to arrange these tours to give ratepayers an opportunity to learn, understand and ask questions.

Have you ever wondered what happens after a toilet is flushed, or where the water ends up after it goes down your drain?

At 10 a.m. on Feb. 26, April 30 and June 25 the city will provide wastewater users an opportunity to tour the reclaimed water facility located at 1480 W. Mingus Avenue in Cottonwood. 

This tour will explain the entire process from the collection system that conveys the sewage to the treatment plant, the treatment process and the various means by which the effluent from the plant is reused and recharged. Treating wastewater in Cottonwood is a complex biological and chemical process that takes raw sewage and converts it to a reusable commodity. Staff will explain the hydraulics of a collection system and the role lift stations play. Field trip participants will visit the city’s state certified lab and see the biological microorganisms that clean the wastewater. Participants will learn about each of the treatment processes starting with the raw wastewater and ending with the two final products, effluent—or reuse water—and Biosolids.

Have you ever wondered where the potable water you use on a daily basis comes from and how it is treated before it is delivered to your home? 

At 10 a.m. on March 26, May 28 and July 30 the mayor and council invite water customers from Cottonwood, Verde Village, and Verde Santa Fe to learn how the water systems work. This tour will be held at the Well 8/9 complex located on South Willard Ave., 200 feet north of Mesquite Drive. Watch for signs.

Questions will be answered about operations that deliver water to your particular neighborhood and home. The tour of the Well 8/9 complex will explain the process from pumping water out of the ground until it arrives at the point of use, your faucet. Staff will also discuss the upgrades in pumping, storage and distribution system capacities that were a major factor in the city recently receiving an ISO 2 rating for our fire department. This ISO rating provides for reductions in the cost of homeowners insurance.

The city has also installed federally mandated arsenic remediation equipment at a cost of several million dollars along with the expenditure for continued operations of this complex system. The capital and operational funds expended on the mandated arsenic treatment accounts for a significant amount on residents’ monthly water bills. The arsenic treatment systems operation will be explained and those on the tour will be able to view the system in operation. Learn the difference between a gravity and pressure water system and learn how the city has interconnected the formerly private water systems to provide redundancy and adequate supply during high use periods. 

The mayor or a council member and staff will be on hand during the tours to answer questions about every aspect of the potable water system operations.

For more information about the tours contact Kyla Allen at Cottonwood City Hall, phone number (928) 634-5526, or email kallen@cottonwoodaz.gov.

We’re all enthusiastic about providing water and wastewater users a chance to learn more about the operations of the facilities that serve you. See you soon.