SEDONA, Ariz. (AP) — More evacuation orders were issued Wednesday for some residents in northern Arizona due to flooding from rainfall and snowmelt.
Yavapai County Sheriff’s officials said rising floodwaters were making some neighborhoods in the Sedona and Cottonwood areas unsafe.
They said the Cottonwood area along the Verde River was threatened by floodwaters as were some Sedona homes around Oak Creek.
Evacuations also were ordered for portions of Black Canyon City along the Agua Fria River in Yavapai County.
Also in Yavapai County, the city of Prescott is warning residents to stay out of certain streams and creeks because of possible contamination. The storms have increased flows from in the sewer system, which transports household and commercial sewage to two wastewater facilities.
The sewer system, however, has been “stretched to its maximum capacity” because of all the storm water and snow melt, city officials said in a news release. Crews have been trying to keep any flow in but manholes near Granite Creek have exceeded capacity.
Officials say crews will begin disinfecting all impacted areas after the flows recede.
Weather conditions have already forced the closures of some streets and low-water crossings.
Salt River Project officials said storms have compelled the utility to increase the number of water releases from its two reservoirs on the Verde River.
The reservoirs were already more than 80% full.
Recent surveys found that snowpack on the 13,000-square mile (34,000-square kilometer) watershed that feeds into those Verde reservoirs is the deepest it’s been in 30 years.
SRP, which serves mainly central Arizona, operates by strategically releasing water from dams on the Salt and Verde rivers into a network of canals.
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