The Yavapai County Board of Supervisors, during its Oct. 15 meeting in Cottonwood, heard the results of an Arizona Department of Environmental Quality commissioned statewide study to identify areas with a high potential to have cesspools.
The study used geographic information system data without field verification by Phoenix based Matrix New World Engineering, Land Surveying and Landscape Architecture. Clarkdale, Camp Verde, Sedona and Prescott provided their data before the study’s due date of June 30 — the only municipalities in the county to do so.
“Cesspools in particular were banned in 1976; we are still finding them today,” ADEQ Manager of Groundwater Reuse Section Laura Carusona said. “They are still prevalent throughout [Arizona], and it’s important for us to document them so we can fix them and remediate the area.”
Carusona said finding cesspools and septic systems is important because, over time, paperwork can be lost and landowners may not know where those waste systems were installed. This could affect their property’s water quality, with the most likely contaminants being nitrates and E. coli bacteria — especially if property owners are planning to drill a well.
“Essentially, it’s a hole in the ground before septic tanks became mainstream,” Matrix New World Engineering GIS Analysis Trey Uphoff said. “So, obviously, putting raw sewage into the ground can have effects down the road. The depths [of cesspools] can vary between 5 to 15 feet. There have been questions about whether it goes directly into groundwater or the water table. They aren’t deep enough to directly reach the water table, but over time, when you have rainfall, snowmelt, that’s when it seeps into the groundwater.”
Banned in 1976
Cesspools were banned in Arizona in 1976 and nationally by 2005, however, an estimated 30,000 to 90,000 remain in the state.
The analysis in Yavapai County used data provided by Clarkdale, Camp Verde, Sedona and Prescott, including parcel information, septic and sewer line maps and land-use records, to identify where cesspools were most likely located.
Vacant parcels and those already served by septic or sewer systems were excluded, in order to focus on high-confidence areas that warrant future in-person verification.
Yavapai County has received $642,648 in Community Development Block Grant funding and $40,000 from ADEQ for cesspool abatement under the Yavapai County Home Repair Program.
Camp Verde
The Town of Camp Verde “caught a lot of eyes,” Uphoff said, because among the municipalities in the Verde Valley, it has the largest area within its boundaries with a high probability of containing cesspools with the biggest “hot zone” being the Verde Lakes area.
“We have promoted the [cesspool abatement] applications for citizens to seek an assessment of their cesspools on our social media,” Camp Verde Town Manager Miranda Fisher wrote. “We will also be presenting the study to [the] Town Council on Wednesday, Nov. 5.”
Clarkdale
Clarkdale has four main areas with high cesspool probability with three of those centered near State Route 89A in the middle of town with another high probability near S. Broadway and Geary Heights Road.
“To efficiently process large datasets at the county scale, the Matrix team employed a subtractive methodology — eliminating areas where cesspools are unlikely to exist. It is important to note that the exact geographic locations of cesspools will not be determined until field verification is conducted,” the report reads.
Sedona
The report identified two areas in Sedona with a high probability of cesspools: The Shadowrock Subdivision off Soldier Pass Road and the neighborhood at the southeast corner of State Route 89A and Sunset Drive.
However, according to Sedona Wastewater Director Roxanne Holland, Shadowrock is not connected to the city’s sewer system because it operates its own private treatment plant. The parcels at State Route 89A and Sunset Drive are already connected to the city’s sewer system, and Holland noted that “this could be a case of insufficient septic abandonment data when those parcels were connected to sewer.”
ADEQ
“What this means for ADEQ is that we have a strategic plan over the next five to 10 years to figure out how to help those who have cesspools and failing septics,” ADEQ Unit Manager Mannie Bowler. “Even a septic system that’s 40 years old is at the end of its life, and we need to understand where these are so that we, as a community, can create [a] solution that’s affordable for everyone. … When a septic system replacement today can cost $50,000 or more, that becomes a reason why families may not be able to stay in their homes.”
“The long-term solution is to get them into wastewater treatment, and preferably with recharge, [that] is where we need to go to help our water supply,” Supervisor Chris Kuknyo [R-District 4] said.
No action was taken on the cesspool probability presentation by the board.
Other News
n In other county news, the board accepted the Oct. 7 resignation of Phil Bourdon as the Planning and Zoning Commission District 5 representative the day following the board’s decision to hire Bourdon as the next county manager. His predecssor County Manager Maury Thompson resigned suddenly on Oct. 1.
Bourdon previously worked for the county for over 26 years, 10 of which as the county administrator and manager. Thompson replaced Bourdon when he retired in 2022.
n The board approved a proclamation recognizing October as Domestic Violence Awareness Month, with Jessye Johnson, executive director of Verde Valley Sanctuary, and Alexis Miller, director of community outreach for Stepping Stones Agencies in Prescott Valley, on hand to accept certificates.
“We are the sister program to Stepping Stones over here on the Verde Valley side. We serve about 1,500 survivors a year and about 9,500 bed nights through our emergency shelter and transitional housing program,” Johnson said. “We also do prevention education in the local schools here, and we’ve been around for a little over 30 years. So thank you very much for recognizing October as Domestic Violence Awareness Month.”
▪ A subgrant of $121,314 from the Arizona Department of Public Safety — Victim Crime Act was approved by the board to fund 1.77 victim advocate positions in the Yavapai County Attorney’s Office from Oct. 1, 2025, to Sept. 30, 2026, providing trained professionals who guide crime victims through the justice process and serve as liaisons between victims and law enforcement.
▪ In its capacity as the directors of the Yavapai County Flood Control District, the board also approved a $100,000 intergovernmental agreement was approved with the town of Clarkdale for general flooding and drainage improvements.
▪ Additionally, another $260,000 IGA with the Town of Camp Verde was approved for drainage improvements on Verde Lakes Drive, flood mitigation on Howard Road and drainage improvements on Dickison Circle.
▪ Finally a $196,468 contract with JE Fuller Hydrology and Geomorphology, Inc for a drainage mitigation study of Salt Mine Road was approved.
