SEDONA — Between 1,000 and 5,000 gallons of untreated sewage flowed into Oak Creek on Sunday evening, Oct. 25, after a grease clog at a restaurant, Sedona officials said.
The city’s wastewater crews were alerted at about 5:30 p.m. to the overflow at a shopping plaza along State Route 179, KNAU reported. Staff determined that the clog sent effluent out of a manhole and into a storm drain that empties into the creek. Crews stopped the flow by about 7:30 p.m. and disinfected the area.
Sedona Public Works Director Roxanne Holland told Arizona’s Family the risk appears minimal given the creek’s flow compared with the size of the spill, but the city still issues public notices and canvasses creekside properties whenever a spill happens. Popular upstream swimming spots such as Slide Rock were not affected because the spill occurred on the south side of town.
The city is testing the water and plans to release the results. The Arizona Department of Environmental Quality urged people to avoid getting in the water near the spill until testing is complete.
Sources: KNAU, Arizona’s Family. Thee Arizona Times uses AI-assisted reporting reviewed against the sources listed.
Photo: Marine 69-71 / CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons.
