Bill Barnard, General Manager
In this month’s message, I would like to share some information that I have learned over the many months that I have been investigating, researching, and troubleshooting issues, as General Manager, regarding the Bullard Wash. The Bullard Wash is a Federal Waterway that enters PebbleCreek on the north side of the property at Indian School Road and exits the south side of the property just south of Verde Lane. It eventually flows to its confluence with the Gila River. Bullard Wash receives tail water discharges from irrigated lands situated north of Camelback Road and, generally, west of the wash alignment. The tail water flows are concentrated in a tail water ditch that is graded along the north side of Camelback Road. At Bullard Wash, the flows are directed into a 24-inch storm drain that is continuous for the full length between Camelback Road and I-10. This pipe runs through our property underground on the east side of the wash and drains out south of our property into another storm drain that takes it further south. Tail water flows that exceed the capacity of the 24-inch pipe will continue overland as surface flow. When overflow occurs in the system, this is when we see surface water in the wash and, depending upon the volume of the flow, the water will flow over the road(s) which poses a significant nuisance to pedestrians, bikers, cart riders, and motorists.
Historically, these overflows were sporadic and not frequent until September of 2017. Beginning in December of 2017, as we saw continuous flows through the wash, we started tracking the overflow events, as well as defining the impact to the road crossings. At that time, we also contacted the Adaman Water District, Maricopa County Water District, the City of Goodyear, Arizona Department of Water Resources, and the Governor’s office in an effort to understand why the water was coming and what could be done to curtail it. The City of Goodyear did hire an engineering firm to complete a study in May of 2018, which is how we got the information regarding the tail water source and increase in flows beginning in 2017. None of the entities proposed a solution, nor are working towards curtailing the flows. We have characterized the flows over the roads into three categories; heavy, moderate, and light. Our definition of a heavy flow is when we are concerned about anyone crossing the wash, including automobiles. A moderate flow would affect golf carts, bikers, and pedestrians but a vehicle could safely cross. A light flow would have minimal effect, a golf cart could cross and you could walk or bike through it, but you may get your ankles wet. On the HOA website, we have a section under the Gate Access tab that not only shows when a gate is down, but the flows that may be crossing the roads from the Bullard Wash. We have categorized them the same as above on the website.
Since we have been tracking the history of the flows, the data for 2018 is as follows: Our road crossings were affected by overflow for a total of 38 days in 2018. Thirteen of those days were a heavy flow (as categorized above), six days were a moderate flow, and 19 days were a light flow across the roads. Of the moderate and light days, many of those flows did not affect the north crossing on Robson Circle as it was flowing under the road at that section of the wash. On the south side, the water flows over the top of the road on Robson Circle South and Verde Lane by design. Of concern, our tracking of 2019 data is showing more frequency of flows as well as longer periods of flow. This summer, the flows have been unprecedented and we are in the middle of the largest flow that we have seen yet. As of August 12, we have had 71 days that our crossings have been affected; 21 days have been heavy flows, 26 days have been moderate flows, and 24 days have been light flows. We have had 38 days in a row (and counting) that the water has been flowing across our roads and we have almost doubled last year’s number of days with several months yet to go. The frequency and duration of overflow is certainly increasing and is creating problems here in PebbleCreek.
PebbleCreek hired CVL Engineering in December 2018 to design a plan that would help alleviate the flow of water across our roads. After several preliminary plans and pricing estimates on those plans, we approved CVL to move forward with a design that would put piping underneath the two south crossings to move the water under the road, rather than its current design, over the road. This design offers a lower cost solution than other proposals as well as the likelihood that it will pass the City permitting process that it needs to go through. CVL has come up with the design, has had a pre-approval meeting with the City of Goodyear Engineering Department to move forward with their design, and will be submitting their final plans to the City of Goodyear this week. Once the City of Goodyear approves the plan (which could take up to 90 days), we can move forward with bids for construction of the design to get a firm number for the cost of the project. It is not a quick or simple process. Once city approval is complete, we will get several vendors to bid on the project. The final process would be for the HOA Board of Directors to approve the expenditure of the project, the vendor, and scheduling the time frame for construction.
Unfortunately, these improvements to the road will not stop the water from coming down the Bullard Wash and the water may still overtop the roads if the volume of the flow is extremely high, either during an overflow event or a large rain event. We will still have the challenges of periodic water in the wash which causes an inability to maintain the wash as we normally would, and the necessity to treat any lingering water for mosquitos after the flows decrease, which is still a concern to those living on the wash. We have hired Blue Sky, our pest control company, to do a mosquito treatment along the entirety of the wash in the community. They will be using both a larvacide to treat the standing water, and a mist to treat the tall grassy areas. They will also be placing traps throughout the wash to monitor mosquito activity. The first treatment will take place on Friday, August 16, and a second treatment will be done 14 days later. We have been in contact with the City of Goodyear and the Maricopa County Board of Directors and both entities are aware of the overflow increases this summer. We are also working with Maricopa County Environmental Services Vector Control to monitor mosquito activity throughout our property and they have been updating us weekly. We will continue to monitor the flows, treat standing water as it arises, and maintain the area as best we can. We will also update you with the latest on the engineering plans for the road and pass along any other information that could be helpful.
This issue is a top priority of mine, my staff and your HOA Board. We are working hard toward finding the right answers to serve the best needs of our community.