City supports Paradise Cove as protected waterbody designation

The Yuma City Council supports the designation of the Paradise Cove West Wetland effluent channel as a protected state waterbody.

On June 4, the council approved a resolution of support to be submitted to the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality.

In operation since 1970, the Figueroa Avenue Wastewater Treatment Facility turns over the majority of Yuma’s wastewater into high-quality treated effluent, which is then discharged into the Colorado River via an effluent channel.

The plant is located in the northwest corner of the city, and the effluent channel feeds into the river from the south.

In 2019, ADEQ determined that, with no mixing zone downstream to dilute pollutants before entering the river, the effluent channel needed to comply with discharge quality standards for nitrate