FAQs • Maricopa County, AZ • CivicEngage

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Who is responsible for the monitoring and clean up?: The Consent Order from the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) requires that Maricopa County be responsible for monitoring and remediating the groundwater contamination, as necessary.

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Cave Creek Landfill

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1. Are there health risks presented by the contaminated groundwater?: There are no known health risks from the groundwater. The groundwater is located over 600 feet below ground surface (ft bgs) and there is no exposure pathway to this water.

The water is not part of the potable (drinkable) water supply. The nearest drinking water wells are over 1 mile to the southeast and are screened at a much deeper (more than 1,000 feet below ground surface) level. These are City of Phoenix wells that are regularly tested for safe drinking water parameters.

2. Who is responsible for the monitoring and clean up?: The Consent Order from the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) requires that Maricopa County be responsible for monitoring and remediating the groundwater contamination, as necessary.

3. Are there monitoring wells in place to track and test the contamination?: There are a number of monitoring wells installed as part of the characterization activities and several more in the planning phase. Locations can be seen in the "Maps & Images" section.

4. Is Maricopa County committed to remediating the problem?: Yes. Maricopa County is handling this as an environmental liability claim and committed to continuing characterization and remediation activities until they are no longer needed.