Improvements to Nogales’ wastewater infrastructure are underway

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY, Ariz. (KGUN) — Ana Kory, owner of Alexander’s Formalwear in Nogales, is used to the sound of running water outside her store’s window.

Water levels in the nearby river channel were high on Wednesday morning. The level dropped throughout the day, but Kory said she had never seen so much water.

“It’s just eerie… You can hear the noise because we’re so close here,” Kory said.

Her business has been in the same location on the corner of Jefferson and Morley for 20 years, and last year she saw emergency responders rescue someone from the car wash who had fallen in.

“We hear sirens. We hear the fire trucks because the arroyo sometimes carries people away,” she said.

Before owning her new location, Kory owned a store in downtown Nogales, where she says the water from the car wash overflowed a few times and got into her store.

“We thought, ‘Oh, it’s going to rain today. Be careful. We’ve laid out sandbags, but it’s very dangerous,'” she said.

While Kory hasn’t seen sewage on the streets, she has seen dirty water, and that water has left her feeling disillusioned with local and state politicians.

“They haven’t done anything for years since we got here,” she said.

In December, state lawmakers passed the Nogales Wastewater Improvement Act. It would fund future maintenance of the International Outfall Interceptor, a nearly 10-mile pipeline that carries wastewater from Nogales, Arizona, Rio Rico and Nogales, Sonora. The act transferred ownership to the United States.

Now Kory hopes the new law will make her fear of flooding disappear.

“Look closely at Nogales because it’s very … it’s scary if the arroyo collapses,” she said.