TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — Ed Bartkowski can walk from his backyard and to the edge of his property using steps that lead to the Pima Wash.
“From even a one inch rain, we can have as much as five feet of water accumulating and rushing through this wash,” Bartkowski said.
Flooding is an issue that worries him because part of his property is in the wash and sometimes gets flooded.
He said sometimes debris can also come down the wash and it will back up water uphill and also downstream.
Now he fears for some new residents in a proposed development called Quail Canyon. Its developer, UIP Quail Canyon One, already got a recommended approval of 100 homes and 210 apartments by Pima County’s Planning and Zoning Commission.
Bartkowski feels like they could also face flooding if the developer doesn’t reduce the number of residential units they plan on building.
“Being a Tucsonan, we have a real sense of community here. We care about the people that currently live here and the people that will live here in the future,” Bartkowski said.
However, Rory Juneman, the developer’s lawyer, said the Pima County Planning and Zoning Commission already made a recommendation for them to lower the number of homes they proposed by 20.
He said they’re working with the Pima County Flood Control District, saying some areas of the property will raise the site out of the 100 year floodplain.
In order to protect against future flooding, he said the project will also have bank protection around it.
However, Bartkowski said some years the flooding can get higher than other years, even reaching about 3 to 5 feet above the ground.
That’s concerning to him and his wife Laura Bartkowski who fear flooding can cause erosion.
Laura Bartkowski said the development will also cause erosion to the homes on the eastern part of the wash.
“It will be pulling dirt from the banks and downstream,” she said.
However, Juneman said erosion won’t go up because their drainage design meets the legal requirements and won’t affect properties nearby. He said the Pima Wash is significantly large enough so that the development won’t cause erosion.
Juneman said they have already talked to stakeholders in the community about the development and some are receiving it well.
Even with their reassurances, Ed Bartkowski is just hoping the developers step up to meet his neighbors’ needs.
“What is going to prevent other developers to build in the other washes?” he said.
