Johnson Utilities is disinfecting a polluted wash close to the Pecan Creek neighborhood near where the utility spilled more than 10,000 gallons of sewage about four months ago. The privately owned utility and the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality worked out a deal this week that would satisfy state regulators.

On Monday, Johnson Utilities was attempting to disinfect the wash with potassium permanganate, a chemical that is billed as being a relatively low risk to fish, according to a portion of the consent order agreed to by ADEQ and Johnson Utilities.

There's no indication that fish live in the seasonal wash. However, ADEQ had shot down an earlier proposal by Johnson Utilities to chlorinate it because of the detrimental effect it could have on wildlife in the area. A resolution took months of back and forth between the utility and ADEQ.

"The bottom line was this - chlorine is toxic," said Mark Shaffer, communications director for ADEQ. "The use of potassium permanganate isn't, in the dosage approved for this operation."

The utility spilled more than 10,000 gallons of sewage in mid-May when sewage pumps became clogged and overloaded near the Pecan Water Reclamation Plant, located on Gantzel Road south of Chandler Heights Road. Several thousand gallons flowed through a spillway and into the wash, according to ADEQ's findings.

Johnson Utilities, however, has disputed that their leak of raw sewage has led to elevated levels in the waterway of E. coli, a potentially hazardous bacteria. Company officials assert that most of the raw sewage was cleaned up before it reached the wash.

The Tribune has the full story.