Arizona
EPA orders the Air Force, Arizona National Guard to clean up groundwater contamination
AZ Gov. Katie Hobbs lays out plan to protect groundwater
Gov. Katie Hobbs introduces the Phoenix Active Management Area groundwater model on June 1, 2023, in Phoenix. Because the model shows a projected shortfall, the governor has announced the state’s water agency will stop approving new developments that rely solely on groundwater.
Arizona Republic
PHOENIX — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is demanding the U.S. Air Force and Arizona National Guard take action as concentrations of toxic “forever chemicals” are increasing in the groundwater in a historically contaminated area in the south side of Tuscon, Arizona.
The EPA found the pollution came from the nearby military properties and ordered them to clean up the contamination. High concentrations of PFAS, or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, were detected in Tucson’s groundwater near the Tucson International Airport at the National Guard base and at a property owned by the U.S. Air Force.
The contaminants threaten the groundwater extracted at a water treatment run by Tucson Water in the Tucson Airport Remediation Project area, known as TARP. That water was intended for drinking, the EPA said in its May 29 order.
Samples taken at the treatment plant showed concentrations of PFAS as high as 53,000 parts per trillion, which is 5,300 times the allowable amount. The limit allowed in drinking water ranges from 4 parts per trillion to 10 parts per trillion, depending on the type of PFAS.
To prevent the contaminations’ further migration towards city wells, the agency gave the Air Force and the Air National Guard 60 days to develop a remediation plan. The Morris Air National Guard Base leading the remediation project did not respond to the Arizona Republic, part of the USA TODAY Network, and its requests for comment.
Tucson Water, the city’s water utility, said the wells impacted by the contamination are not in service and customers are not being served contaminated water. But with concentrations of PFAS continuing to increase, the issue remains a concern for the city.
“When we have an area where the water quality is impacted and we’re not able to serve that to customers, that is an added cost. It really diminishes the resource that we have available,” Natalie DeRoock, a Tucson Water spokesperson said. She noted that other than the Colorado River water the city pumps in, Tucson depends on groundwater, a finite resource.
The water utility stopped serving water treated at TARP to residents in 2021, when increased PFAS levels caused the plant to temporarily shut down as the filter system sequestering the contaminants could not handle the increase.
What are PFAS? ‘Forever chemicals’ are common and dangerous.
What will remediation look like?
DeRoock said the water treated at the TARP facility exceeds state and county standards for clean water, so the city decided to divert the water to the Santa Cruz River rather than use it as drinking water. She said the city wanted people to feel confident about their drinking water, and instead decided to use that water to maintain the water levels in the Santa Cruz River and to help with the riparian habitat restoration.
As part of the EPA’s order, the remediation plan submitted by Air Force and National Guard must ensure the water is clean enough to be used as drinking water.
“With appropriate response, Tucson Water would be able to resume delivering water from the TARP facility to the drinking water system, as it was originally designed to do,” said Joshua Alexander, a spokesperson for the EPA.
Alexander said remediation is a complicated process that could take years. It could require the creation of new water treatment facilities or the modification of current existing facilities to treat an increased volume of water.
He noted several technologies that successfully remove PFAS from water, including granular activated carbon, a filtration system that uses carbon to remove contaminants from drinking water. He pointed out that new technologies are also being developed worldwide to remove PFAS from drinking water.
PFAS is a danger to public health
PFAS are long-lasting chemicals that have been used since the 1940s in a wide range of industries and products — from fire retardants and popcorn bags to personal care items and clothing — that can now be found globally in water. PFAS are considered hazardous substances that can cause severe health issues with long-term exposure, even in low traces.
Studies show PFAS exposure can negatively impact the body’s immune and cardiovascular systems, as well as vaccine response. Studies have also linked oral exposure to PFAS to adverse health effects on the liver, the kidneys, and the immune system, and cancer, according to the EPA.
Though residents in Tucson’s south side don’t receive water from TARP’s contaminated wells, past exposures and their effects worry residents. Many contend broader health screenings and compensation are still due.
Site has long history of contamination
The area has a history of contamination from decades of defense and industrial activities. The Tucson Airport Remediation Project area is a superfund site contaminated with several pollutants.
One of the primary contaminants is trichloroethylene, or TCE, formerly used as a general-purpose solvent and degreaser. Another contaminant found at the site is 1,4-dioxane, which was used as a stabilizer to enhance the life of the solvent bath for degreasing manufactured parts.
These and other hazardous materials were disposed of at the airport and eventually began seeping into the groundwater, contaminating the regional aquifer. The area was declared a superfund site in 1983 and listed as a national priority area for long-term cleanup.
Other contaminants at the site include dichloroethene, chloroform, and chromium. A carcinogenic compound, polychlorinated biphenyls, and metals contamination were also found in some soils on the site. According to the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality, the “contaminants of concern” may change as new data becomes available.
Reach the reporter at sarah.lapidus@gannett.com. The Republic’s coverage of southern Arizona is funded, in part, with a grant from Report for America. Support Arizona news coverage with a tax-deductible donation at supportjournalism.azcentral.com.
How lottery players increase their odds of winning
Players choose to play with dozens, even hundreds of tickets without spending extra money.
A lucky Arizona lottery player is $200,000 richer after winning a Fantasy Five jackpot on Saturday.
The jackpot-winning ticket was sold at a Safeway located at 7110 N. Oracle Road in Tucson, Arizona, Lottery officials said in a news release.
The lottery ticket matched the winning numbers 5, 15, 18, 38 and 40.
The ticket, which was unclaimed as of Monday morning, will expire on July 24.
This year has already been a lucky one for Arizona lottery players. A Mega Millions ticket worth $112 million was sold at Winners Corner in Tempe, and a The Pick ticket worth $2 million was sold at a Safeway in Tucson.
Arizona
No. 21 Arizona GymCats open Big 12 competition with 1st regular season win over ASU since 2016
TEMPE—The No. 21 Arizona GymCats last defeated rival Arizona State during the regular season on Feb. 22, 2016. They also outscored the Sun Devils in the 2017 Pac-12 Championships. It’s been all ASU since then.
Those days are over. Arizona defeated ASU by almost a full point. The final score was 196.650 to 195.725, a huge gap in NCAA gymnastics. It was a huge opportunity for the program, and the GymCats seized it.
“Dual meets, it’s really hard (to win),” Arizona head coach John Court said. “We knew that to come up here in this environment…that we needed to do our best performance. We went 24 for 24, which was great. We had season highs in three of the events, which you got to play at your best on the biggest stage. And we went ESPN2 live across the country and showed our program off. That is amazing. You don’t get a lot of opportunities like that to show the A across the nation for women’s gymnastics. Get your first Big 12 win. Get a Territorial Cup point.”
ASU has not had a strong start to its season. The Devils came in ranked lower than Arizona in bars and beam, both by significant amounts. On floor exercise, ASU is ranked 25th to Arizona’s 26th. On vault, the advantage was No. 26 to No. 33. That had the Devils ranked No. 34 overall, well behind their in-state rivals.
Arizona took the lead from the jump, going up 49.175 to 48.825 after the first rotation and never looking back. The GymCats broke 49 points on all four rotations. ASU had a 49+ on bars and beam but was below the mark on floor and vault.
Vault was a deciding factor in the meet. In the past, the GymCats often gave up several tenths on the event because they don’t perform any vaults that start from a 10.0. This year, it was an even match as ASU performed a slate of 9.95 vaults, as well.
Arizona had five vaults that scored at least 9.800. Even the low score of 9.775 is often a score the GymCats would keep. On Sunday afternoon, it was the score they dropped. Meanwhile, the Sun Devils had just two vaults break 9.800. Arizona sophomore Abigayle Martin won the event with a 9.875.
“We don’t have any 10.0 vaults so we have to be clean and we have to land,” said Arizona assistant coach Shelby Martinez. “I think knowing that we are at a disadvantage because our ceiling is lower than every other event that we do, but that’s okay. It doesn’t have to be a disadvantage to our total team score. It’s just important going in. We know what we have to do.”
Martin is one of three GymCats performing the all-around this season and has really taken to the role. She finished third of five gymnasts with a 39.325 on Sunday but gave Arizona scores it could use on all four events.
“I love it,” Martin said. “It’s definitely been my dream since I was a kid, to come in and do everything in college. So that’s been great. I actually prefer it to last year, when I would did like two or three, because there’s no waiting. It’s just go, go, go. And I think that that’s great for me because it’s less time to think. And I’m someone who does better just kind of being relaxed and settling in and going.”
Senior Emily Mueller won the all-around for the second time this season. She did it with a career-high 39.425. The 9.775 on vault was her lowest score of the day. She went for a 9.825 or better on the other three events and won the balance beam with a career-high score of 9.925.
The beam was where Arizona put a bow on its wire-to-wire victory. The teams went into the final rotation with Arizona leading 147.375 to 147.000. After both leadoff gymnasts went 9.800, ASU ran into its first problem.
Sun Devil gymnast Sarah Clark scored 9.450. With Gianna Lenczner scoring 9.775 on the beam for Arizona, it was imperative that the Sun Devils drop that score.
Things got more difficult when Mueller put up her 9.925 in the third spot. On floor, ASU responded with a 9.775 from Halle Braaflat, its third gymnast.
Another huge setback followed for ASU. Lilia Purler stepped out of bounds on one of her tumbling passes and ended with a 9.600. While there was still a possibility of dropping Clark’s 9.450, it meant that Purler’s score would have to count.
Things got even better for Arizona with its fourth gymnast on beam. Sophomore Tirzah Wise, who was inserted into the beam lineup for the first time in her career last week, scored a 9.900.
“When Emily went 9.95, that was big,” Court said. “Tirzah going 9.9, too. Career high, career high, back to back. It was a great way to close out the competition.”
When Kimberly Smith scored a 9.700 on floor and Martin countered with a 9.850 on beam, the meet was essentially over. Elena Deets didn’t have her best routine to anchor the beam for Arizona, but she made it mathematically impossible for ASU’s Emily White to score high enough for the Sun Devils to overtake the GymCats.
The GymCats got season highs on every event except floor exercise. Their overall score was also a season high.
Arizona improves to 7-1 on the season and moves up to No. 20 in the rankings. While overall records are not hugely important in college gymnastics, being 1-0 in the Big 12 and landing in the top 20 nationally are important.
Conference standings determine which teams will be in the second session of the league championships at the end of the year. That session tends to get bigger scores even when routines are similar to those performed in the early session. The average of certain season scores will determine which 36 teams advance to NCAA Regionals.
“I think it means everything, and I think that this team is so invested in one another and invested in Arizona gymnastics that it just makes perfect sense,” Martin said. “Like, why not us? I think that coming into the year, we knew that this one would be a harder one. I think we have an underclassmen-dominant class. There’s 12 freshmen and sophomores, so we knew that we’d really have to bond together to come and do something like this. And it’s really great to see us come together and win.”
Lead photo courtesy of Arizona Athletics
Big Monday on ESPN will feature Iowa State in action against Arizona.
The Cyclones (17-2, 7-1) made it two straight with a 76-61 victory over Arizona State this past weekend, keeping the momentum going after putting up 108 points vs. UCF.
Curtis Jones scored a career-high 33 points while Joshua Jefferson had yet another double-double. Jones averages just under 18 points per game while Jefferson sits at 13 points and eight rebounds.
Arizona (13-6, 7-1) has been on fire since Big 12 play started, reeling off nine wins in 10 games after starting the season 4-5. That includes back-to-back victories over Oklahoma State and Colorado.
Caleb Love leads the way at 15.6 points per game with two others in double figures.
ESPN’s BPI gives the Wildcats a 58 percent chance to win.
Here are details on how to watch Iowa State’s contest at Arizona on Monday, Jan. 27:
Who: Iowa State at Arizona in men’s Big 12 Conference basketball action
When: 9:30 p.m. CT | Monday, January 27
Where: McKale Memorial Center | Tucson, Arizona
Live Stream: Stream Iowa State at Arizona live on fuboTV (Start your free trial)
TV Channel: ESPN
Our Prediction: Iowa State 80, Arizona 74
Live Updates, Highlights: Follow the game on Iowa State on SI for live updates, in-game analysis and big-play highlights.
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