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Figure 1a - Neighbors observe Flooding on Lakeside Boulevard after the peak has subsided from the September Storm.
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This was the 3 Storm in a 15 month period that flooded this crossing and created property damage in Ahwatukee
In February, 2014, Maricopa County Flood Control District initiated a study to evaluate a 39
square mile area to the South of South Mountains. This includes the Greater Ahwatukee Area
and is referred to as the Ahwatukee Foothills Area Drainage Master Study/Plan (AFADMS). The
Save the Lakes Board was invited to participate in the Community Working Group whose
purpose is to identify community flooding concerns and issues, communicate the study goals and
process, discuss study results, and collaborate to identify potential problems and mitigation. This
pictorial essay is a presentation of our understanding of the drainage features contributing to the
Ahwatukee Lakes System and a presentation of our community flooding concerns and issues.
Save the Lakes is a coalition of Ahwatukee homeowners whose objective is to assure that the
Ahwatukee Lakes and the surrounding open space remain as originally planned and designed. In
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in September, 2014, were unusual as they continued over several hours with three separate
downpours that produced an inch and a quarter (or more) of rainfall in the watershed that
contributes to the Ahwatukee Lakes Retention System. It is important to our membership, that
both normal design events be considered as well as the flooded conditions of the September
event. Three flooding events with property damage have occurred in a 15 month period.
Information furnished by our members show that some of the most severe damage to a single
home may have happened in the August Storm when the Ahwatukee Channel was filled in.
At the annual Save the Lakes meeting in January, a presentation was made that first showed
deterioration and lack of maintenance on the Ahwatukee Lakes property, and then many of the
graphics contained herein that demonstrate the importance of the Lakes Retention as an integral
part of controlling runoff and flood waters in the watershed. The presentation was used as a
vehicle to solicit photographs and comments from members about neighborhood drainage
concerns and flooding. There were several good comments at the meeting and when asked how
many would attend a Public Meeting on the AFADMS, approximately 60 to 70% of the
estimated 200 people raised their hands. Some members commented they couldnt attend the
meeting if held after winter residents left the Valley for summer. This Essay is a compilation of
photographs and comments from dozens of our neighbors who live in Ahwatukee.
The following is a summary of our concerns. These concerns are further detailed in this
document. A Location Map is provided to more easily identify the features referenced:
Maintenance of the Lakes, Berms, Inlets, Outlets, Swales and Spillways on the Golf
Course property has been neglected. Is it within the power of the MCFCD or the City to
force, or at least suggest, that the drainage features be maintained to a suitable level?
Can the Spillways from the Lakes, especially Lake No 1 and No 3; be evaluated to
determine if adjustments might make them perform better during major flood events?
Could additional Berms along Sandia and grading between Lake No 3 and the No 18 Tee
Boxes reduce future storm waters from running onto Sandia and keep those storm waters
on the Ahwatukee Lakes property and out of the street.
Sedimentation from upstream was a huge problem in the August and September Events.
In addition to the normal sedimentation transport evaluation, can the MCFCD evaluate
whether the materials dumped in the drainageways upstream contributed to the
downstream problems in the lined approach channel at 40th Street and the Lakeside
Boulevard Crossing? We understand that sediment will be carried in the normal events,
but allowing these materials to remain in these channels may be questionable.
The material dumped in the Ahwatukee Channel, a part of a solution developed
approximately 20 years ago by Presley Development and the MCFCD for upstream
drainage control, should be removed. The channel was completely filled in, and then
flooded adjacent properties with diverted waters during the August storm ($10,000
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worth), yet only a portion of those materials have been removed and regraded. To the
best of our knowledge, there was no engineering, design or permitting for this action.
What appear to be gradated aggregates have been dumped in the 40th Street concrete
lined channel upstream from the Sequoia Channel to the Equestrian Trail. These
materials and any others added to any of the equestrian paths that were meant to serve as
multi-use facilities that would include drainage features should be evaluated for removal.
Sediment currently found at the confluence of this channel and the main channel crossing
at 40th Street above the Sedimentation Basin, can be traced upstream to this material.
Above the Equestrian Trail crossing of the 40th Street Channel, the native material
appears to be siltier in nature, more finely granulated and much lighter in color.
The Sedimentation Basin at Lakeside has been filled in. This construction involved 1640
cubic yards of imported material. It was neither engineered, nor was the required
permitting acquired from the City of Phoenix. It is speculated that this contributed to
several inches of mud and silt deposited on Lakeside during the September Event;
however, the temporary chain link fence and overgrown trees and bushes on the
downstream side may have contributed to the situation. Evaluation of the previous
condition needs to be done to determine if the original Sedimentation Basin needs to be
restored or if the modifications can remain in place. As constructed, there is no place for
sediment to be deposited except in the small concrete lined channel, the outfall pipes and
the area that remains outside the channel above the springline of the pipes. This was
apparently done without understanding what the Sedimentation Basin was designed for.
Dumping and or storage of Asphalt Millings and/or Aggregate Base Course, and fill dirt
have been occurring for several weeks in the main channel upstream from the Lakes.
These materials should be removed immediately to eliminate downstream migration in
future flooding events as is occurring with the other materials placed in the Ahwatukee
and 40th Street upstream channels. Whoever is responsible for dumping/storing these
materials and/or their removal should be contacted as soon as possible and advised which
Ordinances, Policies, Guidelines, and Statutes that they may be in violation of.
Dirt ramps on the grade control structures have been in place for some time now. It is
unknown if there is enough cover to keep the gunite below from cracking, especially near
the top, or if there are any voids that may be vulnerable. As we are recommending
materials dumped in these channels be removed, we are also recommending that these
ramps be evaluated, recommendations be made on types and weight of vehicles that can
be used on them, and how long they should be allowed to remain in place.
Removal of trees in the middle of drainage channels and at the entrances to box culverts
should be removed by the responsible parties.
Silted in channels should be evaluated and monitored and recommendations should be
made where routine maintenance has been neglected and should be scheduled.
We respectfully submit this document for your consideration and appreciate the opportunity to
be included in the AFADMS.
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Figure 1b - Although the September Event was an anomaly; it is not uncommon for runoff to flow over the dip section on
Lakeside Boulevard. During the Monsoon Season, we often see heavy rains during thunderstorms creating flows that
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cross the roadways at both Lakeside and 38 Street, causing temporary disturbances in traffic patterns. The video
captures shown here are from a storm event in July of 2013. Although severe winds did destroy several trees in the area,
the heavy downpour was of short duration and the flows across Lakeside were more in line with what we have come to
expect during the heavy Summer Monsoon Storms.
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Location Map
As can be seen in Exhibit Number 1, Initial construction was the retirement section within the
Warner-Elliot
Loop and the single family homes to the North of Elliot Road. Access to
Figure 2
Ahwatukee was limited to a single interchange with I-10 at Elliot. By the early to mid 80s,
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Sedimentation Basin has been constructed upstream of the Lakes System as an integral part of
the system but drainage from Keresan empties directly into a channel running to the lakes as the
roadway storm drain system is not yet in place.
The City of Phoenix Storm Water Policies and Standards states: In the planning process,
drainage corridors and storm water storage basins should be combined where feasible with open space,
parks, and trails to create focal points for the community instead of isolated tracts. These combined
uses should be planned and designed to augment City of Phoenix parklands. The benefits of this
approach are an enhanced sense of community, increased open space with landscape amenities, and
decreased crime. The City encourages combined use of drainage and recreation facilities on both public
and private lands.
Our City Fathers have provided us with a set of guidelines designed to enhance our way of life
and provide our neighborhoods with policies centered on improving our standard of living. The
Ahwatukee Lakes Golf Course and Drainage System Features have met that goal. It further
states: Storm water runoff facilities are an integral part of public infrastructure systems and should be
planned as such. The drainage engineer must be included in the formulation of both site-specific and
regional drainage plans and all urban planning should be coordinated from the beginning with the
drainage engineer. Drainage master plans need to be carefully prepared for all local and regional flood
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The Lakes also contain a system of leveling and recirculation pipes to maintain normal water
levels and to bleed off excess storm runoff in minor events. There are also circulation pumps
near Lake No 5 with an additional pipe/pump system that supplies water from the wells on the
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hazard in the dip sections. It is not uncommon in Monsoon Storms for substantial water to cross
at both dip sections and occasionally close the roadways for brief periods. In addition to the
channel flows from South Mountain Park, neighborhood and roadway drainage also flow into
Lake No1. As Shown in Figure No 9, drainage comes from both directions into the dip section
and spill into Lake No 1. Street Drainage also enters the property from the North along both
Oneida Court and Shasta Court. Oneida flows directly into the Lake and Shasta flows over a low
point on the cart path and through a swale into Lake No 3.
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Figure 8 Lake No 1
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Figure 11 - Meandering Spillway from Lake No 1 to Lake No 3 in need of Maintenance and possibly re-design
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Figure 12 - Lake No 2 with Headwall and Channel on the left and Spillway to Lake No 3 on the right
Figure 14a Here the runoff can be seen flowing at the top of the curb line and on the sidewalks upstream from the
Lakes Golf Course on Keresan. Low flows are normally intercepted by two curb inlets and transported to a pipe outlet
above Lake No 2. In this case the Concrete Overflow Channel came into play that is shown in Figure 14b.
for smaller events is collected by two large curb inlets and runs underground through a pipe and
into Lake No 2. Larger events continue to flow along the roadway and are diverted between
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amounts of drainage from the golf course but they are silted in and/or covered. A leveling pipe
runs from Lake 1 to Lake No 2 to control the water level in Lake 1 but there is no Spillway from
Lake 1 to Lake 2. When Storm runoff fills Lake No 2 water flows through a crude railroad tie
banded inlet and through a Spillway to Lake Number 3. See Figure 15.
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Figure 15 - The Blue Area indicates the approximate limit of the drainage retention area
full, an overflow channel conveys water to the South through another concrete channel (Fig 18)
and onto the roadway approaching Knox and the Mountain Point High School property to the
South. A manhole cover serving as an outlet was found in a low point at the Southeast corner of
the basin but we had to uncover it as it was covered with dirt and grass roots. We could not
determine where the outlet pipe went. (See Inset, Figure 18)
Figure 16 - Concrete Inlet Channel for Neighborhood Drainage in the Southwest corner of the property
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Figure 17 - Overflow Channel to the South, Inset shows uncovered Drainage Inlet
Figure 18 - Lake No 3 with Sandia shown above it. The Lake 3 Spillway flows onto the Driving Range from a point just above
and to the left of the Waste Dumpster and Trash sitting in the middle of the Driving Range.
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Figure 19 - This Sediment near the 17 Green would appear to be from Lakes overtopping the berms.
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Figure 20 This appears to be a portion along the top of the Berm that has eroded. This may be a potential breach point
that could have contributed to the additional flows along Sandia.
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Figure 22 - This is a view looking Westerly from Sandia. Note the Cart Path coming down from the 18th Tee Box on the
right. The Berm to the North of Lake No 3 can be seen just above and to the left of the Cart Path. The closer berm on
the left contains golf course features such as trees and bunkers. As can be seen in the photograph, the drop from Lake
No 3 to street level is several feet. Additionally, Lake No 3 is several feet below Lake No 1, not visible from this point.
Figure 23 - Standing near the waters edge in Lake No 3. Note height of the Lakes Berm with
respect to the roofs on Sandia
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Figure 24 - The Valley Gutter is located in the low point on Sandia. Water flows from both directions to this point and
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from here the water is drained to the Golf Course and through the 18 fairway to the Swale in the Driving Range. This is
one of the areas where neighbors said water got into houses on the North Side of the Street.
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Figure 25 Shows the Inlet channel to a small pipe and headwall that drains under the 18 fairway. The insert shows the
pipe and headwall at the outlet to the Driving Range Swale.
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Figure 27 - Demonstrates how the Lake No 3 Spillway flows onto the Driving Range and where the Neighborhood and
Roadway Drainage flow from Sandia into the Swale
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Figure 28 - Water flowing from the Driving Range to the Culvert crossing under 44th Street. The erosion to the right of the
Cart Path may indicate the water surface at this location during the peak of the September Event.
Figure 29 - Indicates the flows from the Driving Range Swale crossing 44th Street to Lake No 4 and the Neighborhood
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Drainage that is retained around the 11th Tee Box, 10th Green and on the 10 Fairway.
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Figure 30 - Concrete Lined Drainageway from S 42nd Place to the Golf Course
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Figure 33 Shows the water overtopping the Berm at Hole 10 and running to 44 Street
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Figure 34 - Lake No 4
Lake Number 4 consists of two areas connected by an equalizing channel and drains eastward from the
larger body thru a Swale to Lake Number 5. The Swale picks up Neighborhood drainage from the North
by way of two paved channels between the houses as shown in Figure 36.
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Figure 36 - Lake No 5
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Figure 38 The blue area at the top tracks the outflow from Lake No 5 to the dip section on 48 ; however the blue area
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to the South is usually soggy as you approach 48 Street. It may also carry water or retain water, but the circulation
pumps and a restroom were adjacent to Lake No 5 and it may have been a maintenance issue. The arrow to the East is
the channel to the Pig Pit. The Apartments at the bottom right corner may receive runoff from the golf course property.
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Figure 39 - Shows the general steepness of the slopes coming off of South Mountains
Figure 40 - Shows the East-West Outlet Channel thru the Residential Neighborhood at Wakial Loop Road
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Figure 41 - Detention Basin on the East Side of I-10 (The Pig Pit) at approximately Knox Road extended.
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Figure 43 - Channel Crossing at Wakial Loop Road downstream from the Lakes Golf Course
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Figure 44 Shows the Sedimentation Basin and the Concrete Paved dip Section at Lakeside Boulevard. Two
Concrete pipes act as a leveling device controlling water level in the Sedimentation Basin and Lake No 1. Low Flows
would be conveyed by the two pipes, but larger flows were carried across the roadway through the concrete dip
section.
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Figure 46 Normal water levels in the Sedimentation Basin were maintained between the flow line and the springline
(centerline) of the outlet pipes. In addition to Sept, 2014, there was also water over the roadway in the August, 2014
Storm and we have included images showing water flowing over the roadway in the dip section in July, 2013.
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Figure 48 Filling in the Sedimentation Basin with 1,640 cubic yards of fill material. (82 truck loads)
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Figure 49 Filled in Sedimentation Basin with low-flow concrete channel from Drop Structure to Pipe Inlet.
Figure 50 Low flow concrete channel constructed in Sedimentation Basin. The flow line of the pipe lines up with the
Invert Elevation of the Pipes. The flow line is just below the water level of the removed Sedimentation Basin (see Fig 45)
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Figure 51 This figure shows water just downstream from 40 Street in the Main Channel. This is not during the peak
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and is just below where drainage from the smaller 40 Street Channel enters below the Triple Barrel Box Culvert that
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carries the Main Channel under 40 Street. At the time of this photo, most of this runoff had just passed through the dip
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section that is upstream on 38 Street.
We have no images that show water flowing through the dip section one quarter mile upstream
from the flow shown above in Figure 52. The dip section at 38th Street does become impassable
with large events but there are alternative ways to get in and out of the neighborhoods, and no
one has indicated driving into larger flows at that location. It is only noted because it was not
listed as one of the crossings that is impassible during large flows. 38th Street, Wakial Loop and
Lakeside Boulevard all need to be included in your Flood Report as crossings that were either
closed during the September event or are frequently impassible during flooding events on this
water-shed. But there are additional concerns in the Main Channel. There is dumping, storage, or
allowing dumping of what appears to be Asphalt Millings or Aggregate Base Course, Fig 53, as
well as fill dirt in upstream Channels and Tributaries. This occurs at several locations. The
Ahwatukee Board of Management is the owner of the Main Channel and should have it removed.
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Figure 52 Appears to be Asphalt Millings or Aggregate Base Course dumped in the Drainage Channel above 38 Street
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Figure 53 The material shown in the 40 Street Channel is dumped material that has been transported to this location.
This material has been cleaned out of the lined channel but has begun to build in lesser events since the bigger flood.
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Figure 54 Material spilling out into the Main Channel from the 40 Street Channel. The source of this material is most
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likely material dumped and graded in the 40 Street Channel upstream and material used to fill the Ahwatukee Channel
upstream just below Equestrian. Until the upstream material is removed, this problem will likely continue.
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Figure 55 This Report is Referenced in the following letter addressing Flooding on properties adjacent to the
Ahwatukee Channel
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ron@blakepulsifer.com
CERTIFIED MAIL
Re:
My Wife and I built our house at 3727 E. Sequoia Trail, Phoenix in 1982 and have lived here ever
since. Our lot number is 973. Our neighbors Rick and Mary Shindell built their house at 12230 S.
Tonalea, Phoenix in 1992 and have lived there ever since.
Both of our houses are in the Ahwatukee E-1 subdivision, for which the homeowners association
is the Equestrian Management Association (EMA). Our houses are both in the area where Tonolea
turns and becomes Sequoia Trail.
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We have not had problems with flooding from water flowing down the Ahwatukee Channel
and/or Tonalea since Presley Development, the EMA, and the Maricopa County Flood Control District
completed the Equestrian Estates Drainage Projects about 20 years ago. I am enclosing a copy of the
report about this project that Presley and the EMA provided to us and other homeowners about 20
years ago, which I will refer to in my letter as the Report.
The key parts of the project for our neigborhood were items 3, 4, and 5 in the Report. The intake
structure referred to in item 3 directed the storm water into the Ahwatukee Channel at Equestrian Trail
where it was contained. Items 4 and 5 increased the ability of the Ahwatukee Channel to carry more
water within the Ahwatukee Channel. Deepening the Ahwatukee Channel and creating a vee in the
Ahwatukee Channel was a critical part of the project.
In the time period from the end of July until August 11, 2014, the EMA through its contractor
WSP, Inc., filled the Ahwatukee Channel with dirt and raised the grade by about two feet. The
Ahwatukee Channel was graded flat and the vee was removed. This destroyed most of the ability of the
Ahwatukee Channel to drain storm water, and was the cause of our houses being flooded. It also
eliminated for our neighborhood most of the benefits of the Equestrian Estates Drainage Projects. We
also believe that our houses now have a much greater risk of being damaged in the future by flooding.
Since the rain storm and having learned about the damage to the Shindell house, WSP, Inc. has
done some work to the Ahwatukee Channel. However, this does not even come close to restoring the
drainage capacity of the Ahwatukee Channel that existed before it was modified by the EMA. Mary
Shindell was told by WSP, Inc. that it would remove the dirt fill that was placed in the Ahwatukee
Channel and regrade the channel to restore the vee, but that this needed to be authorized by the EMA.
Apparently, the EMA has not authorized this and refuses to allow the Ahwatukee Channel to be restored
to its prior state.
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I have worked as an attorney for 40 years, and I am familiar with matters like this. However, this
matter has not yet become a project for the lawfirm of Blake & Pulsifer, PLC. I am sending you this
letter as a homeowner and not as an attorney. The Shindells are friends and neighbors, but they are not
clients and I am not representing them in this matter. It is our intention that this matter be resolved
amicably without hiring lawyers or engaging in legal proceedings.
Sincerely,
Ronald K. Blake, OF COUNSEL
RKB:bw
cc:
Mary Shindell
Figure 56 These photos show some of the flooding referenced in the above letter
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Figure 57 Shows the trapezoidal channel (referred to as a V-Ditch) and known as the Ahwatukee Channel in the Report
prepared by Presley addressing the Projects in conjunction with MCFCD and Equestrian Management Board
Figure 58 Shows the Ahwatukee Channel after three feet of material has been placed in the channel, essentially
removing the drainage capacity intended in the original projects.
Materials placed in the drainages from here, over to and including the 40th Street Channel, not only
reduce the capacity of the drainageways but most likely will continue to contribute to the increased
sedimentation and debris in the downstream channels and across the roadway at Lakeside Boulevard.
This situation, in addition to filling in the Sedimentation Basin needs a careful look during the Drainage
Study to determine if these features need to be restored to their original conditions. It would appear the
damage caused by this is irrefutable and needs to be addressed for the safety of the adjacent
neighborhood properties and stability of the drainage system.
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Figure 59 This is material that has been placed in the 40 Street Channel between the Box Culvert at Ahwatukee Drive
and the Equestrian Trail.
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Figure 60 Fill materials placed in the Ahwatukee Channel and the 40 Street Channel below the Equestrian Trail will
likely contribute to downstream sediment accumulations until they are removed. These materials have been placed in
these channels during the past year. A casual viewing of the main channel looking upstream at this same location does
not indicate the same type of sediment deposits as are occurring here.
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Figure 61 - Piles of material left in the middle of the Upstream Channel up from 36 Street
Figure 62 Piles of material dumped in Main Channel. Although the trees are attractive, they are growing both
above and below the grade control structure. Trees in the middle of the channel should be cleared. Only the trees
along the sides should remain as they are both attractive and may stabilize the banks.
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Additional Concerns
In addition to the dumping and storage of materials in the drainage channels, we do have a few
other concerns. There are areas where trees have been allowed to grow in the middle of the
channels. They are attractive, but in the wrong locations can cause problems with the drainage
conveyance or integrity of the system. Desert trees, when mature, form large canopies, have
surface roots, and over time can restrict culvert openings and damage grade control structures.
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Figure 66 From atop the Culvert, you can see the large tree with broken limbs and surface roots collecting rocks and
sediment in the channel and creating some blockage at the upstream Culvert opening.
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Figure 67 This image slows a series of Grade Control Structures in the Main Channel upstream from the Lakes, with dirt
ramps near the center of each one. Note the exposed rock of the Control Structure at the top of the first one, left
exposed and vulnerable if heavy vehicles were to drive over it.
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Figure 68 Sediment below the Grade Control Structure at Las Lomas School
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Figure 69 Five Barrel Box Culvert crossing Warner-Elliot Loop Road has several inches of sediment build-up. This should
be monitored as eventually this channel will need to be cleaned out. There is also a tree growing at the base of the
roadway drainage turnout on the left that should be removed.
Although these are not features that indicate a lack of maintenance the following collage shows a
few of the individual fixes placed by some of our neighbors to assist with their localized drainage
problems. The drainage features in Ahwatukee have been well thought-out, but in some cases the
water still gets out of the channels or has a mind of its own.
Figure 70 This figure shows a makeshift dam of cinder blocks between a fence and a culvert headwall to keep drainage
from flowing onto the street and into yards, sandbags to keep the flow out of a back yard, a relief channel to move
ponded water away from a fence, and what was a rock lining to stop the channel from migrating toward the block fence.
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Apparently, no engineering work was done with respect to the Sedimentation Basin, and whether
it met these criteria, or whether there was no need to meet these criteria. The lack of engineering
knowledge is apparent, as grading and drainage permits are required if they move more than 100
cubic yards of cut or fill or if they change the drainage features. Clearly, both were done.
Permits would have been required for both the filling of the Ahwatukee Channel, as well as the
Sedimentation Basin, and possibly the 40th street Channel, and a Registered Engineer should
have been consulted prior to initiating any of these activities. I would like to think they did not
understand that the permitting would be required, so possibly some help would be in order,
advising them of what constitutes routine maintenance and what requires design, approval, and
permitting. This discussion should also include what might constitute violations of City
Ordinances, County Ordinances and any State or Federal Statutes that might apply.
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